


Sunshine & Darkness

by imamessofawriter



Series: Solangelo one-shots and prompts [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Abortion (mentioned), Actor Will Solace, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Hollywood, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Mortal, Anger, Anxiety, Baby sitting, Babysitter Nico di Angelo, Baking, Based on a Tumblr Post, Bets, Bisexual Will, Boys In Love, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Capture the Flag, Childhood Friends, College Student Nico di Angelo, College Student Will, Coming Out, Confessions, Cooking, Couch Cuddles, Crushes, Cute, Director! Nico, Domestic Boyfriends, Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Fancy Cars, Fighting, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Gun Violence (mentioned), Hades is a Good Parent, History Project, Holiday Season, I will add tags as I go, Iris Message (Percy Jackson), Long-Distance Relationship, Love, M/M, Medical Student Will Solace, Meeting the Parents, Mentions of Percabeth, Mutual Pining, Nico and Katie become friends, Nico is a prodigy, Nico is an awkward kid, Nico is getting used to camp, Nico knows how to cook, PDA, Percy jackson being an asshole, Picnics, Pining, Plans For The Future, Platonic Relationships, Post ToA, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Relationship, Public Display of Affection, Rich Nico di Angelo, Romance, Sarcastic Nico di Angelo, School Project, Secret But Not Secret Relationship, Self-Doubt, Shadow Travel (Percy Jackson), Sibling Bonding, Sibling Rivalry, Sick Character, Singing, Single Father Will, Soft Boys, Stargazing, Strawberry Picking, Teamwork, Teasing, Three Days in the Infirmary (Percy Jackson), Trauma, Will has a daughter, Writer Nico di Angelo, and has to sing in front of the whole camp, and jason/Piper, argument, between HoO and ToA, by accident, campfire songs, college planning, confessing, exam period, exchanging numbers, game strategy, group picnic, homophobic family members, jason is alive, kayla and hazel bond together, nico get's turned into a flower by demeter's children, nico is a little shit, nico is dense, nico kicks everyone in the groin, nico loses a bet, nico sings his feelings out, nico tricks percy, parent will solace, sharing a plate, solangelo, story telling, supportive campers, supportive friends, supportive hades, teaming up, the 'doctor's note' makes an apperance, they get thrown in the lake, they live across of each other, they talk about life, they talk about senior year, this was written before reading all TOA books, two loved up boys, will is dense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:33:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 40,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25882894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imamessofawriter/pseuds/imamessofawriter
Summary: Collection of one-shots based on 5-word prompts.1. “actually… i just miss you.”2. “alright, i’ll leave you alone.”3. “and then everything just disappears.”4. “and where do i go?”5. “anyone could tell from here.”6. “are you finishing that or…?”7. “are you stupid or stupid?”8. “anything, just call me, okay?”9. “bitch better have my money.”10. “bro… that’s so… not cool…”
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Will Solace, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: Solangelo one-shots and prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1878208
Comments: 37
Kudos: 160





	1. “actually… I just miss you.”

**Author's Note:**

> This series is inspired by a list of 5 words prompts on Tumblr. I will admit that at the moment of writing this, I have not read the trails of Apollo, and all interactions I got was from reading fics, Tumblr, and Riordan Wikia. So in advance, I apologize if I butcher the portrayal of the characters. And I will put warnings for each one-shot at the beginning notes, so make sure to read them beforehand. Also, English is not my native language, so I apologize if I make mistakes.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will is called away due to family issues and he IM’s Nico. 
> 
> **Prompt:** “actually… i just miss you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:** OC’s for Will’s family members. Characters may be OOC. Mentions of anxiety.

Nico turned around in his bed for the hundredth time that night. A thousand different scenarios and images conjuring in his mind. ‘ _It’s not real, these voices are not real,_ ’ he kept reminding himself. Looking at the clock on his nightstand, he groaned as he read the time. 2:19am. Almost 20 minutes have passed since he looked at the clock, twenty minutes of his mind feeding his fears.

“Ughh…” he groaned, throwing away his blankets as he got out of bed. The Hades cabin was still cold as ever, the summer heat notwithstanding. Scanning the room for a distraction, Nico settled in one of his couches and turned on his Nintendo switch. If he couldn’t sleep, he might as well do something to tire himself out.

Nico had bought the switch when he first stayed at camp. It was something to help distract him during sleepless nights. He played a few rounds of Mario Kart before moving to play smash bros. He was already good at the game, but it didn’t hurt to change characters and experiment with different moves. He had the CPU in the hardest mode. It wasn’t like his skills need polishing, after all, he had won all of the Smash bros monthly camp tournaments in the past year. The only time he got close to losing was with Connor Stoll, but to be fair, Hermes's son was trying to cheat his way to the championship.

After hours of playing, his body began shutting down automatically. The exhaustion had caught up, and he turned the console off and crashed on the bed. His eyelids closed as darkness consumed him into a deep sleep.

Nico didn’t know how long he was sleep. All he knew was that he was tired, and everything felt fuzzy. A heavy knock on his door had woken him from his slumber. He groaned and rolled in bed, covering his head with his pillow as he continued to sleep. The knocking did not cease as he hoped. Instead, it became louder and more insistent.

“Go away,” he yelled at the person on the other side of the door. He hoped that whoever was the assailant would understand the message and leave him alone. 

Alas, they did not get the message. “It’s Will,” a voice called out. It clearly did not belong to Will Solace. Instead, it was a familiar voice that Nico in his hazy mind could barely identify. All he knew is that it belonged to a boy. 

“What do you want?” He wasn’t in the mood to have an argument. He wanted to sleep, and to do that he needed to get people to leave him alone.

“Can you open that door?” the person asked. Now that Nico was more awake, he recognized the voice belonging to Austin – Will’s younger brother. 

Nico sighed, giving up to his fate. He stood up, wrapping the blanket around his shoulder and padded towards the door. As he wondered what Austin could want, he remembered the words ‘It’s Will.’ His anxiety flared up at the possibilities of what those two words could mean. Was Will hurt or in danger?

He closed his eyes and tried to sense Will’s soul. He couldn’t find it in the underworld, which meant that he was alive. Nico let out a sigh of relief, his shoulders sagging down and opened the door.

Austin stood there, looking at him a bit apologetically. His face clear out of worry and fear, which barely did anything to ease the anxiety in Nico’s mind. “Will IM’ed Chiron late last night, and he said that he may need a week or two more, and he says that he is safe.” Nico nodded in understanding, glad that Will was safe. “Because it was a late call, we didn’t know if he talked to you, so we thought it’s best to tell you as soon as possible.”

Nico gave a small tired smile, his eyes looking over Austin’s shoulder at cabin 7. The cabin shone brightly under the sunlight, shimmering like gold. “Thank you,” he replied, “the last time we talked was two days ago, and things were a bit rough with his family.”

Austin stood there, assessing Nico for a couple of minutes before speaking again. “Are you okay? You look like you were hit by a bulldozer,” he asked with worry.

“That bad?” Nico grimaced. He had hoped that the few hours that he had slept would hide the exhaustion and anxiety.

“I mean unless those eye-bags are a fashion statement,” Austin joked. Nico chuckled, rubbing his eyes and stifling a yawn. He had become very friendly with the Apollo cabin in the past few years, it was a side effect of dating Will. Nico had secretly loved it when Will’s siblings came to him for advice, it meant that they trusted him with their lives. 

“Just late-night anxiety these past few nights,” Nico shrugged, “I kinda just want to sleep in, though.”

“It’s 11:30 already. You missed breakfast,” Austin pointed out. “I’ll cover for you. Just get some rest, and I’ll get you a snack at around four or five, but I expect you to come to dinner.”

Nico yawned once again, “I have some granola bars, I’ll eat them for breakfast, and I will wait for that snack at five. Thank you, and can you please make sure that nobody comes knocking until then.”

“Of course, and I’ll see you later.” Austin bade him farewell, and Nico went back to bed. He tried to go back to sleep, but his mind was filled with thoughts of Will. 

.

“Call me Ernest, and this is my wife, Marjorie. I presume you are from camp as well?”

Nico looked to his side at Will. He had no idea about the protocol when dealing with the Solace family, and he needed help. Will gave him an encouraging nod, and Nico extended his hand forward to shake Ernest’s hand, “yes, sir.”

“Oh, my,” Marjorie – Will’s grandmother – coed, “He is one handsome fella.” Both Naomi and Will chuckled at hat comment while Nico blushed at the compliment.

“Thank you, ma’am,” he replied shyly, remembering his manners. “It’s nice to meet Will’s family. I can see where he got his kindness and love.”

It was Will’s turn to be a blushing mess. Naomi gestured for Nico to come closer to her as she tried to sit up straight. The son of Hades’s walked with hesitant steps, afraid of accidentally hurting someone. Naomi patted the bed next to her, and Nico took a seat there. “How are you, dear?” she asked.

“I’m fine, how about you?” Nico smiled, linking his hands with Naomi’s. In the time that he was dating Will, Naomi had become one of the few mother figures he has. His no.1 mother figure will always be Sally Jackson. “I’m happy that you are getting better.”

Naomi opened her mouth, about to reply when a shimmering appeared from thin air. The Iris message cleared, and Nico could spot Kayla and Austin along with some other campers. “NICO GET YOUR ASS BACK TO CAMP NOW!” someone yelled from afar, but judging by the voice, it was Percy.

“uhhh…” Nico squeaked as he looked around in a panic, “what did I do?”

Will quickly checked that the hospital room door was closed and that the curtains were hiding them from view. Ernest and Marjorie looked at Nico in confusion, while Naomi sat there amused. Will just looked at his siblings with a raised questioning eyebrow.

“SHUT IT JACKSON,” Kayla yelled at Percy and turned quickly to the IM. “The young campers are throwing a tantrum, they refuse their lessons, and they demand that Nico teaches them.”

“They even jumped on Percy when he tried to give them a sword-fighting lesson,” Austin added. “It was quite hilarious watching the amazing Percy Jackson fall at the hand of a bunch of angry 8-year-olds.”

“We can’t talk for long because we are in a hospital, but how is the infirmary?” Will intercepted. He hadn’t wanted to leave his precious infirmary, but he knew that he would have to pass it on to safe hands one day sooner or later.

“Everything is under control, no major injuries.” Austin gave a wide grin and a thumbs up.

“Great, talk to you later.” With a swipe of his hand, the rainbow rippled, and the message dissolved into nothingness.

The two boys shared a look and went out of the room, leaving three confused adults, to discuss their next plan of action. Nico had managed to convince Will to stay with his family for a while, while he would go back to camp and carry out his duties. At first, Will kept arguing that they should both go and come back to Texas every weekend, but Nico told him no.

They went back and explained the situation and what they were going to do. Nico had said goodbye to Naomi and Will’s grandparents before shadow traveling out of there. That trip was three weeks ago. It was as if a stroke of bad luck had come over Will’s family.

Once Naomi had gotten discharged from the hospital, the entire Solace family – distant relatives included – had a huge lunch. According to Will’s account of the event, the lunch had a tame start before turning into a colossal disaster. Will had called in the middle of the night, his eye red and puffy with tear stains down his cheeks. “It’s grandpa Ernie. He had a heart attack.”

Will went on to describe what had happened in great detail. At some point during the lunch, various relatives started to argue with each other. That pissed off Ernest, and his blood pressure spiked. There was some more yelling, and Will’s grandfather had collapsed on the floor. They had rushed him to the hospital, and the doctor had told them that Ernest had suffered a strong heart attack.

Will had then informed Chiron that he will extend his stay and see what he can do to heal his grandfather. Due to the man’s delicate state, Will was only able to use so much of his powers without tiring his grandfather. Will had no problem with healing his grandfather using accurate doses of power.

Instead, the biggest issue he faced was healing his grandfather without the other members of the Solace family knowing or seeing what Will was up to. Will’s status as a demigod was a secret that Naomi had protected close to her heart. The only people she had told were her parents, and they didn’t seem to mind and supported her grandson wholly.

The only way for Will to treat his grandfather was to be alone with him. But his various family members, whether it was an uncle or a cousin, made that impossible. They would always show up in the hospital room just as Will was about to chant a healing hymn. They would scowl at him, standing over their grandfather and accuse him of trying to kill the man.

These people were the main reason why Will had to constantly delay his return. Even though he wanted nothing more than to be snuggling with Nico or healing injured campers.

.

Nico sighed, grabbing a granola bar, eating it slowly. He threw the wrapper away once he finished eating and went back to bed, trying to get some sleep. Alas, he was once unable to sleep. He stared at the dark ceiling of his cabin, trying everything to go back to sleep when a rainbow flickered in the air in front of him. 

He jolted in a sitting position and watched as the image cleared to show his boyfriend. Will sat there looking exhausted. His hair tousled in an untamed mess. His eyes drooped in tiredness, dark circles around them. Nico had only seen Will this drained once when the infirmary was swamped with heavily injured campers.

“Catch you in a bad time?” Will greeted with a smile. 

“Nah,” Nico replied, “I wasn’t able to sleep in the first place.” A small smile stretched on his lips. Now that he could see Will through a projected image, some of the fear and worries he had eased off.

“It’s around 11 at camp, shouldn’t you be awake and leading one of the training classes?” Will asked. “Not that I’m complaining, I can barely get some alone time with you.”

Nico let out a small huff and rolled his eyes. “I didn’t sleep last night, and Austin woke me up like twenty minutes ago,” he shrugged and studied Will’s features. “He told me you talked to Chiron. Is everything okay with your grandfather?”

Will nodded, but he wore a solemn expression. “I managed to get 10 minutes alone with him to sing a healing hymn. He’s having another surgery next week, and I want to stay close by just in case something goes wrong.”

“Hey, hopefully, everything will go well,” Nico reassured, using one of his softer tones. He readjusted his position to sit more comfortably. “He is a fighter, he will survive this. Besides, he has you watching his back.”

“I know, it’s just…” Will deflated, pouting. “Everyone is being extra fussy, and it’s becoming unbearable. And I kind of was about to lose my cool and curse aunt Bethany with haiku curse… or maybe rhyming couplets, I didn’t decide.”

Nico snorted at the mere thought of Will’s annoying and evil aunt Bethany shouting and swearing at everyone with haiku’s. He could already picture her pointing a perfectly manicured finger at Will and sprouting things like,

_“Dear bastard nephew_

_your presence is not welcomed here_

_undo this witchcraft.”_

“Other than that, everything is good.” Though Nico could tell, there is something else. He had gotten good and reading Will. “I will be in the balcony of the OR to watch the operation, and you know sing a hymn if anything goes wrong,” he added.

Nico hummed, his voice filled with tenderness. “Are you sure you are not pushing yourself?” he asked, well aware of how Will could sometimes be. “You look very tired.”

“I won’t say I’m pushing myself exactly,” Will replied. “grandpa Ernie is a mortal and, in a way, is kind of fragile. I have to sing a specific hymn and watch the amount of healing powers I pour to him. It requires a lot of concentration, which is kind of difficult to do in this house.”

“But how are you holding up?” Nico asked, letting a bit of his worry show in his voice. “No monster attacks? No prodding questions? Are you eating and resting? you are not overusing your powers, are you?”

Will let out a small laugh. His eyes twinkling with amusement, “It seems like the student has finally surpassed the master.”

“I learned from the best sunshine,” Nico teased, “I can safely say that the tables have turned now.”

They both sat there, staring at each other with adoration. “Not really,” Nico insisted, his voice soft and laced with love and worry. “How is everything?”

“As good as one can hope,” Will sighed in defeat. His tone conveying just the amount of exhaustion he was feeling. “Some of my relatives are okay, others are a pain in the ass. What's new?” he shrugged. “I try to ignore them as much as possible, but somedays they just get under my skin.”

“I understand what you mean.”

“I mean, I understand that they dislike the whole out of wedlock birth and an absent father. But why take it out on me… it’s not even my fault,” Will complained. Bitterness seeping in his voice as he let all his frustrations out. “And stupid me accidentally revealed that I’m bi and now half of the family is yelling at each other. Like it’s split between pro and anti-LGBTQ…. I’m glad that some of them support me, but it’s just aghhh.”

“I’m sorry,” Nico whispered. His heart shattering at Will’s frustrations. Part of him wants nothing more than to wrap him in a hug and never let go.

“What for?”

“I don’t know, but it just feels like I’m letting you down somehow,” Nico admitted.

“Nico, you are not letting me down, I promise,” Will assured. “On the contrary, I feel like I’m the one letting you down. I keep extending my stay, and it’s like there is no end to it.”

Nico let out a small, barely audible chuckle. “It’s your family Will,” he comforted, “there is nothing more important than them, doesn’t matter if they are mortal or not. Family is family.”

Will smiled widely, glowing, and radiating with warmth. They chatted for a while about different things. It was mostly Nico giving Will an outlet to vent about his difficulties with his various family members. An hour and several drachmae later, someone yelled at Will from the door of his room.

“Well, I have to go for lunch before one of my cousins barge into the room and meltdown at what he will see.” Will gave the door a quick glance.

Nico smirked and resisted the urge to laugh. “I guess seeing a floating rainbow with your boyfriend's image would be the final nail in the coffin. That’s it, you are a lost cause. Maybe you should print a photo of us with a rainbow and hang us from the ceiling fan in the living room.”

Will looked at Nico with wide eyes before letting out a loud bark of laughter. “Oh, that would be priceless…” he wheezed, “just imagine the look on aunt Bethany and uncle Howard’s faces. oh…and cousin Phineas would just laugh his ass off and start sprouting these quotes and facts that will piss them off even more.”

“Hey, Will,” Nico called out before Will went and ended the call. “If you need anything, I’m here for you.”

“Thank you, Nico, but I’m all good,” Will replied. He was about to add something else but closed his mouth and seemed deep in thought. “Actually… I just miss you.”

“I miss you too.”

“I wish you were here.”

“I wish too, love.”

“You can come over,” Will bit his lips. “Maybe you can meet aunty Leah and her children, they are the best, and maybe some of my cousins. I know mom and grandma would love to see you again.”

“I’ll talk to Chiron,” Nico stated. “I’ll tell him it will be a few days, and if he says no, I will say that Austin or Kayla need to help you, and I’m just chaperoning them.”

“Since when do you listen to what Chiron says?”

“I need to arrange a schedule for the little ones,” Nico scoffed. “we don’t need a sudden IM popping int he middle of family dinner, and all you can hear is people screaming for me to control the kids.”

“Yeah, that would be terrible,” Will laughed. He suddenly tensed as he heard footsteps close by his door. “I gotta go, love you, bye.”

The image got cut off with a few waves of Will’s hands. Nico sighed as he curled back in bed. Even though he shut his eyes, he could no longer sleep. Sighing, he went and got ready for the day, mentally creating a temporary schedule for his classes. He needed to find a way to break it to the younger campers that he would be unable to teach them for a few days and that they should accept and respect their substitute.

As he got out of his cabin, he made his first step towards the big house. Hopefully, he can find Chiron there and talk to him. He was excited and humming with energy. He couldn’t wait to see Will again.


	2. “Alright, I’ll leave you alone.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico is trying to teach the kids of the underworld gods shadow traveling. Will does not approve.
> 
> **Prompt:** “alright, i’ll leave you alone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is set a few weeks after the war with Gaea, like in mid or late-august,
> 
>  **Warnings:** Brief mentions of trauma.

Nico looked at the date. It has been two weeks since he first went to the infirmary for his 3-day stay. Two weeks since Gaea. Two weeks since the war. Two weeks since Leo Valdez died. And mainly two weeks since he met Will Solace.

The son of Apollo had shattered every misconception that Nico had about him. He was assertive and stubborn, unlike the chill and laid back manner he presented. His sense of humor was dry, and outside of the infirmary boundaries, he was pretty lax. 

Nico had gotten along with Will, to the point of being introduced to the latter’s friends. All of whom had taken a liking to Nico, especially Lou Ellen. She had become a close and trusted friend in no time. They had bonded over their shared common interests: necromancy and underworld magic. While Will did not mind them bonding and discussing the dark aspects of their powers, he could not help but worry about Nico not being ready to use his powers. 

This sense of worry is what had lead to their current predicament. It started by Nico explaining the concept of shadow traveling to Lou Ellen and her siblings. Somehow the few children of the underworld gods were roped into the conversation. And so, Nico had found himself delving into great details about umbrakinesis and its many uses to 10 enthusiastic demigods.

He had asked for a volunteer after finishing his explanation. He would carry the volunteer and shadow travel so that they could understand how to manipulate the shadows and use them to teleport themselves. Lou had stepped forward and held Nico’s hands. He gave her a basic rundown and stepping into their own shadows. 

A few seconds later, he found himself slamming into a tree, 10 feet away from his target destination, with Lou falling to the ground next to him. “I overshot,” he groaned, rubbing his face. 

He turned to look at Lou, only to find her standing up, moaning as she held her stomach. “I feel a bit dizzy,” she stated, “is it supposed to feel like this?”

Nico nodded, recalling his first attempt at shadow traveling. “First time I shadow traveled, I passed out for an entire week,” he confessed. “Dizziness and nausea are common side effects, but after a time, they should stop.”

Lou nodded back once she got over her nausea. She wrapped an arm Nico’s waist while he put his over her shoulder as they made their way back to their little group. It looked as if they were hugging each other. Lou smiled and offered her siblings a peace sign as they got closer.

“NICO FUCKING DI ANGELO.”

Nico tensed and searched for the source of the voice. Just a further behind the group, a fuming Will Solace appeared. In his usual manner, he pointed at Nico and then to the ground in front of him. _NOW_ , the gesture screamed. Reluctantly, Nico let go and slowly walked towards Will. Hoping that the bout of dizziness from slamming into a tree wasn’t showing.

“Hey, Will,” he greeted warily, unsure of how to approach Will. His hand made its way to twisting his skull ring. 

“I thought that I said no more underworld-ly magic.” Will assessed Nico from head to toe, his whole posture showing how livid he was.

“Will, it’s fine,” Nico shrugged in an attempt to get Will of his case. “I didn’t fade or collapse. Besides, I thought that order was just during the battle to stop me from hurting myself.”

“You’re not supposed to use your powers for something not important,” Will fretted. His foot tapping impatiently on the ground, and his arms crossed over his chest. “You may not have faded _this_ time, but I saw you hit that tree. And to top that off, you had to carry someone with you. What if you two got lost in the shadows, huh? What if you jumped to some random location and then collapsed, huh? What then?”

Nico felt a simmering rage boil under his skin. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. “It’s just…they asked me about shadow travel, and they all seemed excited about it,” Nico countered, his hand twisting his ring. “You said I needed to make more friends, and I’m doing just that.”

“That is no excuse for you to use your powers recklessly,” Will hissed. “Impress people with your personality, not your powers.”

“I wasn’t,” Nico growled back. Will was starting to get on his nerves at the moment. “Look, I know that I overshot the distance. I haven’t used my powers since hauling a giant ass statue, so excuse me if I got my measurements wrong.”

He was breathing heavily as he yelled at Will. He was about to add some more things before he stumbled forward, slowly losing his balance. Black spots danced in his vision. He blinked several times and felt strong arms wrapping around him. A few moments later, he regained consciousness, finding himself in Will’s arms with their chests touching. 

Immediately, his face heated up as he thought about how ‘compromising’ his position was. In the two weeks that he spent hanging around with Will Solace, Nico had developed a crush on the blonde. 

In his first week, he was surprised to learn that camp was very accepting of same-sex relationships. He gasped when he saw a son of Demeter kissing a son of Aphrodite in public. The couple was making out in the middle of the dining pavilion until Drew Tanaka told them to get a room and something about using protection.

Now, Nico wasn’t precisely sure by what she meant by protection. However, the intense blushes on the boys’ cheeks and sputtering about how they are still young for _that_ , gave him a vague idea. Will was sitting next to him, “I don’t want to give anyone _THE TALK,_ ” he muttered, his ears tinted with red.

Ever since that incident, Nico had decided that he would slowly test the waters and come out to a select group of people. He had been working up the courage to come out to his sister but would chicken out every time they talked. There was a lingering fear that always stopped him whenever he wanted to ask campers about their stance in certain matters. He felt as if he asked the question, not only would he out himself but also alienate people from him.

Nico snapped out of his thoughts and pushed Will roughly. “Don’t touch me,” he growled, fear and panic consuming him.

Will pursed his lips together and furrowed his brows. “Well, excuse me for catching you before you embarrassed yourself, next time I should just let you collapse,” he hissed.

Anger bubbled in Nico’s chest. He tried to reign it in, but it took over. He hated being manhandled and treated as if he was a fragile child. “Why don’t you leave me alone, what I do to myself is none of your concern.” His tone came out clipped and aggressive as if he was a scorpion about to strike.

Will breathed deeply, fists clenching by his side, and tried to keep his cool. “Alright, I’ll leave you alone,” he announced, his head raised high. The way he looked down at Nico had made the younger much more angrier. “But do not come to crying for help when you get hurt.”

With a swift turn of his heel, Will walked away, leaving Nico there on the hill. Nico clicked his tongue and turned to look at the group of demigods who were waiting for him. Lou Ellen was approaching him with an apologetic look. “I’m sorry if that got you in trouble,” she said sheepishly. 

“It’s not your fault,” Nico reassured, “Will is a close friend of yours, and we are good friends. He is being an asshole at the moment. I keep telling him that I don’t need to be babied and constantly watched over, but he just won't listen.”

“Still, I’m sorry,” she apologized once again. They both glanced at the group chatting between themselves. “I think it would be better if we pushed the lesson to some time later. I already have a vague idea of what we are doing. We’ll do more reading and practice manipulate shadows, and maybe in a few weeks, we could go for shadow traveling.”

Nico looked down at his feet, guilty. “I’m sorry for ruining the mood,” he mumbled. “Maybe I could see if Mrs. O’Leary would take you shadow traveling. That way, everyone would know what to feel for.”

“That’s lovely,” Lou smiled, clapping her hands together in a gesture of gratitude. “Will won’t dare put a rhyming curse on you, but the rest of us are fair game. So I’ll see you later?”

“Campfire,” Nico nodded. Lou smiled and wrapped her arms around Nico to give him a quick hug before she bade him farewell. Nico had stomped back to his cabin in anger. He was angry at Will, angry at himself, angry at everything. The whole way, he tried to keep his composure. He did not want to push away any potential friends.

In his cabin, he groaned and crashed into his coffin-shaped bed. He needed to get on his promise to redecorate. Maybe he should talk to Annabeth for some design ideas. Laying down on his stomach, sleep came to him naturally. He didn’t realize how tired he was, and his head was throbbing in pain. 

A knock on his door had woken him up. A slight creak vibrated through the cabin walls as Percy’s head peaked through the small crack of the opened door. “Hey,” he greeted softly, taking note of Nico’s state. “Can I come in?”

Nico was still sleepy, but he nodded and rubbed his eyes to wash the sleep away. Percy made his way inside and took a seat at the foot of the bed. “I heard about what happened in the afternoon. Will got mad at you for teaching some Hecate kids shadow traveling, and then you got angry.”

Nico nodded, not trusting his voice. He sat up in bed and went for the water bottle next to his bed, taking a few sips. For the longest time, he had a crush on Percy Jackson, but looking at him now, he realized that it was mostly hero admiration and a sort of a sexual awakening crush. “I just shadow traveled for twenty feet, but I underestimated my powers and overshot,” Nico admitted.

“But, you can use your powers without any issues, right?” Percy asked with concern. “Reyna told us about what happened when you almost faded.”

Nico pressed his lips together and studied Percy for a while. He thought about what he wanted to say. “Did they tell you about the circumstances of why I was fading?” Nico bit his lips, and instinctively, he started to fiddle with his ring. The son of Poseidon shook his head and looked at Nico in confusion. “Well, after the….the…” Nico swallowed, trying to get the words out.

“The pit,” Percy said for him, and Nico nodded shakily. The mere mention of its name had bought up unwanted memories. 

“Yeah,” he swallowed, secretly thankful that he doesn’t have to elaborate further. “I was worn out and then after the thing with Eros, I–”

“What thing with Eros?” 

Right, Nico had forgotten that nobody knew about that terrible run-in. “It doesn’t matter,” he hissed, the very name of the love god was poison on his tongue. “I became more drained, and then when I carried that statue across the world, we faced some trouble. Then we ran into one of Octavian’s lackeys, and I lost control of my powers and sent him to the underworld, that’s when I started fading.”

Nico was breathing heavily as he let out all of his pent up anger. “I mean, I send a living soul to the fields of punishment. Percy, that in itself is unforgivable of me. He threatened to kill Reyna, and I just lost control of my powers and went all psycho on him.”

His voice broke as tears streamed down his face uncontrollably. He didn’t know why he was telling Percy of all people, but his emotions were eating him alive. Nico hiccuped and rubbed his eyes, trying to stop himself from crying. “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this but I–”

“When Annabeth and I were down there,” Percy interrupted, pulling Nico out of his thoughts. “I lost control, and I suffocated a goddess with her own poison, I never saw Annabeth that much scared of me. Its understandable Nico, the pit brings the worst in us, but deep down, you are a good person. otherwise, you won’t be feeling guilty about sending someone to the fields of punishment.”

Nico looked down at his sheets and clenched them in his hands. This wasn’t how he hoped the conversation to go, he hoped to avoid the jar and Tartarus for good. “It’s just one mistake, Percy. I kept overusing my powers, and it backfired, but now everyone is treating me like using my powers would kill me, it won’t.”

“Did you explain that to Will?” Percy asked, “I’m not saying it’s your fault, but explaining helps.”

“He won’t listen,” Nico shook his head. “He went all doctor mode and left when I got mad at him.”

Percy sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “I’m not very good at this, but next time try to make him see your point of view, make him understand.”

Nico glared at Percy and crossed his arms, he did not really like what the piece of advice was insinuating. “Again, I’m not saying it’s you who is wrong. The both of you are, and while you are at it, make sure he apologizes to you,” Percy added. “Also, it won’t hurt to take it easy for a while and try to talk to someone. Talk to anyone who is willing to listen.”

Nico huffed and nodded reluctantly, understanding what Percy meant. “I guess I could tell him to back off for a bit and give him a list of reasons why.”

Percy ruffled Nico’s hair while the latter just whined and complained. Soon the dinner horn sounded, and they headed towards the dining pavilion. Nico parted ways with Percy and sat alone at the Hades table. He could feel eyes watching him, and between the loud chatter, he felt more self-conscious. 

Giving himself a quick mental check, Nico finished his dinner quickly before his emotions flared up in a negative light. He gave Lou Ellen and the Hecate cabin a wave as he excused himself and went back to his cabin. On his way out, he ran into Will, who was just heading towards the pavilion. Recalling his conversation with Percy, Nico schooled himself and approached Will. “Hey, can I talk to you later?” he asked with a soft neutral tone. 

Will raised a brow and pursed his lips together. He had not replied to Nico just stood there looking at him. “It’s important, please. Come to the Hades cabin before campfire. No underworld-ly powers, I promise,” Nico pleaded.

Will regarded Nico for a couple of seconds before nodding. “I’ll be there in thirty minutes,” he replied curtly and went on his way. Nico took a deep breath as he went back to his cabin and starting to construct a conversation in his head.

True to his word, Will knocked at Nico’s door in exactly thirty minutes, not that he was counting. Nico had pushed all unnecessary and inappropriate thoughts away and invited Will in. They both sat on Nico’s bed, facing each other with their legs crossed. “So, what did you want to talk about?” Will asked, his gaze assessing Nico.

“I. I. I..” Nico groaned and rubbed his cheeks with his hands in frustration. He looked Will in the eye and continued. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry I got mad at you earlier, but you need to understand where I come from before you reach any conclusions.”

Will opened and closed his mouth, trying to say something, but he was confused. Nico took that as a chance to continue. “Look, I won’t say that Reyna and coach were exaggerating when they said that I was fading and that it’s bad, but there were other circumstances that are linked and caused what happened.”

“Other circumstances? good or bad?” Will had switched to doctor mode, and he began to worry for Nico. The younger was now fidgeting in his seat. He had previously told Will about how he was captured and locked in a bronze jar, but he never explained the details or the reasons that led to his capture.

“I never told you how the giants captured me. It was sometime in early summer when Percy, Hazel, and Frank went to free Thanatos, I went to locate the doors of death. I searched all over the underworld, but I couldn’t find them. So I thought ‘hey I could skirt the edges of T–Ta–Tartarus and try and sense them’ b-but when I got close the gravity sucked me in,” Nico gulped, his hands shaking as he recalled the story.

Will gave Nico a questioning look before he took Nico’s hands in his own. Nico squeezed his hand and took a deep breath. “Things were bad, and I got captured and tortured. After I got rescued, I was too tired to do anything. Then I helped Jason retrieve Diocletian’s scepter from Eros. That’s another story that I hopefully will tell you one day. Then the whole thing of navigating the house of Hades and fighting monsters, I was running on an empty stomach all that time. It’s not that I have terrible eating habits; it’s just that every time I tried to eat something, I would just throw it back up. You understand that it was out of my hand, right?”

Will looked at Nico and nodded. He wanted to cry and hug Nico and apologize for all the times he was insensitive. He recalled every time he had pestered Nico about his eating habits in the infirmary to the point of creating healthy meal plans that consisted of juices and drinks with essential vitamins and minerals. And when Nico began eating more food than he did before, he was glad.

“And then I volunteered to haul the statue all across the world. I know it was a bad idea, but I couldn’t bear staying on that ship any longer,” Nico confessed, “I jumped a few hundred miles and then rest, over and over. It wasn’t a smooth quest. And when we came back to America, we ran into trouble. I lost control of my powers. Will, it was bad. I unleashed all of my powers in a fit of rage, that’s when I went into a coma and almost faded.”

“Coma?” Will questioned with a frown, his voice slightly raised. Nico had almost regretted saying that. “You were in a coma, and nobody thought to tell me?”

“Will,” Nico warned, his shaking hands gripping Will’s firmly. He closed his eyes and tried to keep level headed, lest he lashes out. “Look, I lost control and did something that is both horrible and draining. And in my already exhausted state, my body just completely shut down.”

Will hummed in understanding, but his frown was still there. Nico hoped for any other reaction, something he can hold onto. So that _thing_ that you did, how taxing was it for you to go in a coma?”

Nico swallowed. He hoped to avoid the name Bryce Lawrence forever. He hoped that it was a secret he carried with him to the grave. But he had already failed at that, he had accidentally told Percy earlier, and now he was going to tell Will. He thought of a way to say it in a light-hearted tone, something that won’t make Will hate him or be disgusted with him.

“I might’ve turned a living human into a ghost and sent him to the fields of punishment,” he mumbled quickly and anxiously. “I mean, he sort of murdered people before and threatened to kill Reyna and everyone at camp.”

“Oh…” Will gaped, unsure of how to respond. It took him a couple of moments to process the words. He looked back at Nico and saw the worried expression he wore. “So you normally don’t go around turning people to ghosts?” he asked light-heartedly.

Nico let out a sigh of relief. “I didn’t even know what I did,” he admitted. “Coach and Reyna told me what happened when I woke up. All I knew is that I was tired and scared.”

“Okay…okay…” Will hummed to himself. “So I take it that the damage you did to yourself is much more than you let on?”

Nico groaned and fell back on the bed. He wanted to strangle Will, who seemed to not get what Nico was trying to say. “All I’m saying is that a little bit of shadow traveling won’t kill me, certainly not 20-foot or 60-foot jumps. Will I know myself, if I didn’t feel ready I wouldn’t have offered to teach the Hecate cabin. Besides, I haven’t been using my powers these past two weeks. I have regained my strength, and I’m not exhausted anymore.”

“Nico,” Will began with his healer's voice. “Medically, I’m inclined to think that you are not ready. Your powers may not kill you now, but if you do not allow yourself proper rest, it will come back to bite you in the long run. Besides, I saw you hit that tree, you gave yourself a concussion.”

Nico glared at Will. He really wanted to strangle him. “I did not give myself a concussion.”

“Umm, you kind of collapsed in my arms and was out of it for a minute or so,” Will pointed out. “I healed you, though.”

Nico huffed and looked at anything but Will. “Well, I have underestimated my strength,” he pointed out. “Shadow traveling is like using a muscle, through time, it gets stronger. And after the quest, it got stronger than I expected. I have used the proper amount of power I would need to go 30 feet, but instead, I went 40. I’m not sure if it makes sense.”

Will hummed and nodded. “So, you are telling me that you have gotten more powerful to the point that you missed your landing spot and went further than you wanted?”

“YES,” Nico replied enthusiastically. Finally, Will was starting to understand him.

“I see.” Will was in deep thought, looking nowhere in particular. He took a deep breath and squeezed Nico’s hand, which was still entwined to his. “I guess I owe you an apology for freaking out. But I want a compromise.”

Nico thought about Will’s offer for a while before nodding in agreement. “I’m not going to be against you using your powers, but I need you to regain at least 80% of your strength back. You have clearly lost a ton of weight this past year, you look like you will drop dead at any moment, ha death joke.” Nico snorted at the pun, he didn’t think Will would crack such a joke. “But once you are cleared from my end, you are free to use your powers as long as you rest when you need to.”

“How long would that take? Until you clear me from your end?”

“If you keep to a healthy diet rich in proteins and carbs, I would say a month or so,” Will thought aloud. “In a week or two, I could add some workout and maybe lifting weights. The stronger you are physically, the better it would be.”

Nico raised a brow and gave Will a questioning look. “Are you saying I’m not strong?” he smirked as he taunted. He had known what Will had meant, but he found it entertaining to watch Will flustered. 

“You are strong enough to kick my ass into next week if given the chance,” Will deflated, a blush on his cheeks. “But, I also know that you are much stronger, especially now after the whole hauling a fort foot statue while you were in a weakened state.”

“So, I guess we have a deal then?” Nico asked with a hopeful tone. “I rest and regain my strength until you clear me. Then I could use my powers carefully, and in return, you won’t fret or make a scene and chew me off?”

“Deal,” Will smiled and moved his hand to shake Nico’s to seal the deal. “Besides, I got made because you are my friend, and I care about you. I would hate it if anything happened to you.”

Nico blushed and felt his heart to double flip at these simple words. ‘ _Stupid crush,_ ’ he berated himself. His lips stretched into a smile as he pulled Will out of bed with him and towards the door. “I also know that you hate looking weak,” Will added, “this would save you the trouble from fainting in broad daylight and being subject to embarrassing rumors.”

At that moment, Nico did not think that his feelings for Will would grow even more stronger. For a moment, he thought about coming out then and there, but he still couldn’t muster the courage to do so. He knew that it is better to do it sooner than later, better if it came from him and not someone else. Eros may have forced him out in front of Jason, but to everyone else, it would be on his term, whenever he feels ready.

As they walked, Nico stopped in his tracks. “I’m gay,” he whispered, shutting his eyes in fear, his hands clenched tightly to his sides. 

“Thank you for trusting me,” Will whispered back as he hugged Nico, “That changes nothing, and I will keep your secret until you are ready.” He smiled and linked his hand with Nico, tugging him forward towards the campfire. Will started chatting and joking about random things, anything to make Nico feel normal and accepted. 

They sat at campfire together, with Nico nested between Will and Lou Ellen. Sometime later, Will went and joined his siblings for the sing-a-long, not caring that he is off-key and a terrible singer. Nico laughed at Will, he laughed at a joke Lou had said. He laughed as he watched several of Hermes’ kids, including Cecil – Will’s other friend – running around the hearth fire. He had found the courage to come out to Will today, and the blond had accepted him. Maybe in a week or two, he would find the courage to come out to his new friends. Only time could tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve said it in the beginning and I will say it again. I have not read TOA and this is my take on solangelo. And let’s be real, when Will said no underworld powers in BoO and mentioned the fading situation, I have a feeling that coach Hedge did not explain everything, and Nico doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to talk about his problems. And I feel like Rick does not address the PTSD and issues the demigods have developed.


	3. “And then everything just disappears.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico is a Hollywood director and Will is a rising actor.
> 
>  **Prompt:** “and then everything just disappears.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is an AU, I took some artistic liberties and changed some things. Mostly like personality-wise and all of that. 
> 
> I wanted to upload this chapter 3 days after I posted the last one but I got sidetracked and never got the chance to check this one or even the chance to upload it.
> 
>  **Warnings:** AU-Modern setting/Hollywood

When Will arrived home, he was greeted by a very cheerful and happy Nico di Angelo cooking dinner, which in itself was a rare occurrence. Between the two of them, work took a lot of their time, leaving them tired and down by the time they went back home. If they went home at all.

Nico was a well known and established director in Hollywood. Having several critically acclaimed movies to his name. People were surprised to learn that Nico is actually just 26 years old and had been directing indie movies ever since he was 15. Once people found out that Nico hails from a family of Hollywood executives, the idea of him directing at 15 was not far fetched. His father, Hades di Angelo, had founded the DOA foundation, which owns a variety of filming studios and record labels. Nico had always found it amusing that his father was named after the Greek god Hades, though his father was more awkward and isn’t really a cold person. And his mother, Maria di Angelo, was an Italian singer, with a sweet voice. The two had met on early on in Maria’s career, and they conceived two children: Bianca and Nico.

Nico lost his mother and sister in a car crash at ten. Their sudden death had pushed Hades into a constant cycle of work, often leaving Nico alone, but the two had become close. The trauma had left Nico with a habit of recording every moment in his life, and soon he had taken a liking to filmmaking. Nico had written and directed his first film, a small feature that was submitted to the annual youth filming competition by 14. The film had won him the competition and a few prizes, including enrollment into an accelerated filmmaking program at a prestigious Hollywood institution.

By 21, Nico became sought out by big studios to direct large budget films. These offers freaked him out, but through time he had come to accept them and treat them as a challenge. He became dissatisfied with many of the stories he was given and became a very picky director. One day during family dinner, his father suggested that Nico write his own story if he was unsatisfied. And so Nico had spent the last several years writing, scarping, and polishing the perfect script for him. He didn’t care if people may not like it, as long as he felt the script had a good story.

.

Will Solace grew up in theatre. His mother, Naomi Solace, was an alt-country singer from Austin, Texas. His father, Lester, was absent for his entire life and had a solid career in the music industry. Watching his mother perform every night in small corners of bars and lounges had brought him happiness as a child. But in the end, his mother had to settle down so that he could go to school. He was 7 years old when he enrolled in the local theatre, only to be disappointed by his lack of musical talents. That did not deter him, as he soon found himself in-love with non-musical plays, and acting in general.

When he was 17, a broadway producer had scouted him and offered him a scholarship to Juilliard. Will had accepted and moved to New York, finding himself cast in different broadway plays. His longest venture was for the play War Horse, which he was part of the cast for a year and a half. While he was in that play, a Hollywood casting director noticed his performance and offered him an audition for a limited drama series that would air on HBO.

Will had sent an audition tape before flying to LA for his final audition. He nabbed the role and gained the praises of critics and other media outlets, all of which had named him one of the new rising stars of Hollywood. It may not have been theatre, but Will found filming shows and small-time films fun. He was primarily interested in period drama’s, limited series and independent films.

He had been living in LA for over a year and a half, finding out that the industry was quite competitive and getting jobs was harder than he thought. Within that year, he met Nico di Angelo at a party, and the two hit it off quickly and ended up exchanging numbers. Nico had complimented Will on his acting skills while the latter tried his best not to be a total fanboy and play it cool.

Nico was the one who made the first move and asked Will out. That was 11 months ago, and they have been in a relationship ever since. For their own sanity and because of Hollywood’s fickle nature, they decided to keep their relationship a secret so that it would not make things harder for them. They had split their time between filming, attending festivals, and award shows. Every time they were apart, they counted the days they could spend together, doing chores around the house to remind themselves to remain grounded.

.

“So…” Will greeted with a smile. He wrapped his arms around Nico’s waist from behind and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You are happy and singing, and you are making dinner,” he pointed out, “What has gotten you to be in a celebrating mood?”

“I’ll tell you once the food is ready,” Nico beamed and then proceeded to shoo Will away. While Nico was set on cooking, Will helped around by setting up the table and cleaning the dirty dishes that were in the sink. The whole time, he was telling Nico about his day, and how his auditions are going.

Dinner was finished minutes later. “Remember how I was working on a script of my own?” Nico asked between bites. Will nodded as he chewed on the food, not having the time to swallow. “Well, it just got greenlit,” Nico announced with a proud smile.

Will squealed in excitement and surprise as he jumped out of his seat and hugged Nico, showering him with kisses. Will was really happy for his boyfriend, knowing how hard Nico was working on his script. Knowing that Nico wanted to create a unique and original script, unlike the same cliche stories going around. “I’m kinda curious about this story,” he stated as he settled back in his seat.

“You know how I have this soft spot for mythology?” Will nodded as he took another bite of his meal. “I drew inspiration from several myths, especially one of the Persephone lores, the one that states she stumbled to the underworld and stayed there on her own free will.”

“So, it’s set in ancient Greece?” Will asked, having seen how Hollywood had butchered some historical stories. “We’ve seen what Hollywood had done to stories like Achilles and Perseus, not that I doubt you, but will your story be okay?”

“Studios tend to get a lot of stuff wrong,” Nico smiled reassuringly. “But I have done my research, and the story would be set in modern times.”

“Now I’m curious,” Will added, his undivided attention now focused on Nico.

“The story will take place in a small town in Oregon, the main character is Persephone. She lives there with her mother, Demeter. But in this story, they are not immortal, and they do not have powers. Persephone is 25 and has no autonomy. She dreams of going to college and getting her education. but her mother insists that they stick together and that farming is more rewarding than anything.” Nico began explaining. “It’s not just greek mythology, but there will be elements of Roman, Norse, and Celtic myths.”

Will poured Nico a glass of water and listened intently to the story. “One day, she was driving with her mother when they saw a broken-down car. There was a man wearing a business suit, and he had no idea what he is doing. The man is Hades, and he at first came off a bit rude, but it was actually because he was stressed. He explains to them his situation, he is going to Seattle to visit his two brothers. In this story, I will just go with them being only three brothers because incest is disgusting. Anyways they offer him a place to stay the night until they can fix his car.”

Will gives Nico an expectant look, earning a sigh from his boyfriend. “Is Hades a kidnapper? A serial killer?”

Nico chuckled and shook his head. “In this story, he is a lawyer, like he owns one of the country's largest law firms. I know you would say that he is rich, he can fly over. That was the original plan, but he wanted some time for himself and relax, so yeah, he decided to take a road trip that he didn’t prepare for.”

Will laughed and set his spoon and fork down, and took his plate to the sink. Nico took a sip of his water and continued, “anyways, the next morning, their neighbor who lives like 2 miles away, and is actually a based on a Norse god, came to fix the car. Hades had to stay for two more nights, and in that time, he and Persephone had become friends, like he gave her some life advice and all that. Nothing happens, and he goes on his way.”

Will turned around from the sink and looked at Nico with a raised eyebrow, “What happens then? Does she run away?”

“Oh no,” Nico shook his head, “Hades encouraged her to pursue higher education. He even gave her a list of some good online colleges she could join. He even talked to Demeter and convinced her to change her mind. The next week, Persephone was driving back from the city where she had just enrolled in the local college, but then she got into a big crash and ended up hospitalized. But one day she receives a huge bouquet of flowers, the note says it’s from Hades. The crash made it to the news, and he immediately recognized her. A week later, he flew down and visited them.”

“Aww, how romantic!”

“The romance isn’t going to happen for a while,” Nico chuckled. “Anyway’s they were drowning in hospital bills and debt, but Hades pays for everything. He then offers them to move to LA; he could buy Demeter farmland she could oversee, and Persephone could go to school and still be close. The audience looks at how they struggle to adjust living in a new place and then watch Persephone go to school and major in Women Studies.”

“I thought there was going to be romance,” Will pouted.

“Romance isn’t the main genre here,” Nico laughed and went to help Will with cleaning up. “We watch Persephone’s journey from being a timid young woman to an independent woman. We watch Hades slowly fall in love with her, and he tried so hard not to act on his feelings. Persephone is 27 at that point in the story, while Hades is 48. That’s like twenty years. At the same time, Persephone starts developing feelings. They flirt a bit, and one day she asks him out, he awkwardly says yes, and they have a romantic picnic under the stars.”

“Oooohhh,” Will smiled widely. They had finished cleaning up and were moving to sit in the living room.

“So they have a nice dinner and get talking,” Nico continues, leaning onto the couch. But Will could see there was a mischievous smirk making its way on the director’s face. “They both lean in for a kiss, and then everything just disappears.”

“Is the kiss so magical that she blacks out?” Will joked.

“Nope,” Nico said, popping the ‘p.’ “The whole screen fades to black and stays like that for a minute, then we see Persephone opening her eyes.”

“She wakes up?”

“You see, everything is actually made up in her head,” Nico clarified. “Persephone is a 16-year-old girl and actually a city girl. Her mother was overprotective after her father abandoned them. Both Persephone and Demeter are actually very close, but one day they got into an argument while they were driving, and then they were hit by a drunk driver. Demeter died, and Persephone was in a coma. Everything she imagined in her head and Hades was actually this guy she had loved when she was a young, but he moved away.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet.”

“Anyway’s she moved to live with her aunt, Hestia, who lives in New York,” Nico continued. “And guess who she meets there.”

Will grinned as he shook with anticipation. “The boy she had loved was living in the same building as her. Like we don’t see her relationship build or anything, we just see them shocked at seeing each other and then bam, time skip 10 years later with them on their wedding day and Persephone becoming a lawyer. The end.”

“Wow!” Will breathed in awe.

“Is it good? did you like it?” Nico asked, biting on his lower lip. “These are like the main story points. I will focus a lot on the emotional aspect and the struggles. I want the audience to relate and feel what Persephone is feeling.”

“I never thought an indie film could be mainstream at the same time,” Will commented.

Nico chuckled and wrapped his arms around Will and snuggled into him. “I love you,” he mumbled, pouring every once of his feelings into his words. Sure he dated around and was in several relationships in his life, but he never felt this much love for anyone else.

“I love you too,” Will whispered and pressed a kiss on Nico’s temple, pressing him closer.

“By the way,” Nice began after a few minutes of silence. “There is a role I think it would suit you. It’s for Apollo and about 10 minutes of screen time, not much. If you are interested, I could give you a script and arrange an audition for you.”

Will smiled, felt grateful for his boyfriend. He never thought they would work together, let alone get a chance to work on a di Angelo original. “Thank you,” he replied, “I won’t let you down for giving me this opportunity.”

“If it was up to me, you would be the lead role,” Nico grinned and pressed a kiss on Will’s jaw. They laughed and snuggled onto each other as they watched TV together for the rest of the night.

A month had passed since that conversation, and Will kind of forgot about the audition. The only reason he remembered about it was because of his agent. The man had informed Will that the studio was accepting auditions and have offered a part of the script to talent agencies. A week later, Will had sent an audition tape, which he practiced over and over again until he perfected his performance.

Nico sat in the casting room with the producers and casting directors, watching audition tape after the other. At that moment in time, they were looking at the casting of secondary characters. When Will’s audition tape came through, Nico tensed in his seat.

Watching the audition, a smile made its way on his face. He was well aware of Will’s roles and had seen some of them, but he never realized how good his boyfriend is. “He is perfect,” one of the producers stated. “I’ve seen him in a movie last year, the one that made a lot of noise in Toronto.”

“The daughter!” another producer exclaimed as she pulled a resume on her iPad. “He was good in that movie, but I never expected him to have such a range. It says here that he went to Juilliard, been in theatre since he was 7. He has a good background.”

“Director, what do you say? It’s your call,” the first producer asked, looking at Nico for an answer.

“He’s…good,” Nico replied hesitantly. He really wanted to give Will the job, lord he deserved it more than any of the other auditions. But he also knew journalists like to dig around and they will say that Will had slept his way to the role.

“I sense a ‘but,’” Nico’s father spoke. Hades had been the one to greenlight the movie and seemed to take great interest in it. Nico had assumed because he shares a name with one of the main characters. Nico regarded his father; the man had sat the entire time silently, not putting any input on the casting process. He had just sat there, letting Nico run the whole show, only providing his support.

“Will and I are dating,” he spoke timidly. Hades had figured out that Nico was gay when he was 12, and had encouraged him and gave him his full support. But after his first two boyfriends, Nico never mentioned any of his lovers to his father and avoided bringing them home.

“And?” Hades asked. His presence was intimidating, but Nico had gotten used to it.

“Won’t that be considered as nepotism or something?” Nico asked, turning to look at all the people in the room. “I can’t hire him just because we are in a relationship.”

“I don’t see why not,” an executive producer spoke. “We all agree that his performance is good, your relationship has nothing to do with our decision. And as long as you remain professional in the workplace, then I see no trouble.”

There were murmurs in the room as everyone came to an agreement. “It’s settled then, the role of Apollo will go to Will Solace,” Hades announced. And that was the end of the discussion. They carried on with watching the tapes and casting the other roles. Just as they called it a day, Hades called over his son once all of the people in the room had filled out.

“Father,” Nico nodded in greeting.

“Why have I not heard of this boyfriend of yours?” he asked, slightly upset. “I thought we told each other everything, how long have you been dating?”

Nico shuffled and looked around, feeling guilty for hiding his relationships from his father. From the man who supported him his whole life, who tried to raise him even though he was away for most of the time. “Near a year now,” Nico confessed, “but we wanted to keep it on the down-low. We don’t want people all up in our relationship while it was fresh and new.”

His father nodded and stirred the conversation to other topics. “I expect to see Will sometime soon,” Hades said as they parted ways. Nico nodded with a shy smile before he went climbed into his own car and drove home.

Pulling into his driveway, he noticed that Will’s car was not there. It wasn’t 5 o’clock, which meant that Will was probably in the gym, working out. Nico took a shower and dressed in one of his finest date night clothes as he set up a candlelit dinner. He bought out one of his most expensive champagne bottles and set it on the corner of the table.

When the door opened, and Will came into view, Nico popped the bottle open and poured the champagne in a cup. Will approached hesitantly, his skin was flushed and sweaty, still in his gym clothes. “I didn’t forget about a birthday or an anniversary, did I?” he asked, eying the table warily.

“No,” Nico smiled and shook his head. He walked towards Will and gave him the champagne glass, “we are celebrating.”

“What are we celebrating?”

Nico smiled and pressed a kiss on Will’s lips, “you got the role of Apollo, it was a unanimous decision, they loved you.”

“Really!” Will gasped. He set his glass to the side and picked Nico up and twirled him around.

“Yes,” Nico laughed, wrapping his arms around Will’s toned shoulders, not caring about the sweat. He sighed as Will set him back on the ground, “And I might’ve slipped to them that we are dating, and now my dad wants to meet you.”

“As long as you are by my side, I have nothing to worry about.” Will peppered Nico’s face with kisses.

“I love you.” Nico pressed a kiss on Will’s forehead. He threw his head back, laughing, his heart filled with happiness and love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a review and subscribe to the series if you are interested.


	4. “And where do i go?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Nico discuss their futures after high school together.
> 
>  **Prompt:** “and where do i go?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:** AU-modern settings

They laid on the roof of Nico’s house watching the night sky in the early May breeze. Laying there was one of their favorite past time. They would squint their eyes and try to find the starts. They would point at a shiny do in the sky, only to be disappointed that it was a passing plane.

“It’s the light pollution, I’m telling you,” Nico huffed. His hands were resting on his stomach, a smile on his face. Will laid next to him, his hair messed up from the wind.

“I know,” he agreed and sat up. “I can’t wait to visit towns or go camping in places where we can actually see the stars.”

“And when would that be?” Nico hummed playfully.

“Sometime soon,” Will replied softly, a distant smile on his face. “Maybe when we are off in college, in between semesters. We could even go camping in during spring break next year.”

“Hmm…next year would be senior year,” Nico hummed as he thought about the offer. “I doubt that we would have the time and luxury to go camping.”

“Why not?”

“We’ll be busy applying for college and extra classes,” Nico stated with a small frown. “My dad is already nagging about them, telling me to start applying early. I know that Annabeth had her applications ready at the start of her junior year and got accepted at Harvard, Yale, and NYU in November of this year.”

“That's Annabeth for you,” Will laughed. Annabeth was a year older than them and was going to graduate from high school by the end of this month. Will had met her through Nico, she was dating Nico’s cousin Percy Jackson, and before that they were friends.

Will and Nico had met in 3rd grade when they were partnered up in their PE class. They had become close friends and remained friends ever since. Between the two, Will was more of a social butterfly, while Nico had been integrated into the cool kids club solely based on the fact that Percy Jackson and Jason Grace were actually his cousins who treated him as their younger brother.

“It’s gonna be weird next year, with Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper gone,” Nico commented. Both boys were in their junior year, while Nico’s cousins and their friends were seniors. Their graduation was just a few weeks away, on May 28.

“At least Hazel, Frank, and Leo are still with us,” Will added. “You still have some of your friends.”

“Hazel is my sister, I see her all the time, and by extension Frank,” Nico huffed. He sat up and scooted close to Will, bumping their shoulders together. “I don’t want to spend our senior year keeping Valdez under control.”

Will laughed at that before turning quiet for a moment. “Leo would probably spend all of his time in the workshop,” Will thought aloud, “he would work on many projects to get a scholarship to MIT.”

“Really? What makes you think that?”

“It’s Leo, he is a genius mechanic and a tinker,” Will explained as if it was that obvious of a face. “He would go for a mechanical engineering degree, maybe something to do with robotics.”

Nico hummed in amusement and came to rest his hand on his lap. Curiosity sparked within him at what Will thought their friends would do, “What about everyone else?” he asked.

“Annabeth, we all know is getting a degree in architecture,” Will replied with a shrug. “So that’s a given, she still didn’t tell us what school she chose, but I’m guessing Harvard. It just seems like a place she would thrive in.”

“She’ll tell us in her valedictorian speech,” Nico added, recalling what Annabeth had said with a grin when asked about her school of choice. “What about Percy, he is keeping it also under wraps and refusing to say anything.”

“To be honest, I think Percy may take a gap year,” Will theorized with a thoughtful expression. “Maybe he will go to college in the spring semester. I think something along the lines of marine biology, or he will decide to become a professional swimmer and be a pro athlete. Perhaps he will get a full ride on a swimming team scholarship.”

Nico let out a small laugh and went back to lying down. He laid on his side, using his arm as a pillow. He gave Will a look that asked him to carry on. “Clarisse will get a degree on something history or war-related, I can see her joining the army,” Will continued. “Chris would go the business route, maybe something in finance or accounting. They will be that couple that goes to the same university because they don’t want to be apart.”

Will looked at Nico who was still staring intently, he flashed him a smile and continued on. “Travis Stoll may look and act like a moron, but he is good at convincing people. He will become a salesman, maybe one of those real estate agents.”

“Piper, I can see either managing a chain business or going for the political route and may run for Senate one day.” Nico chuckled and nodded absentmindedly, agreeing with that idea. “Jason, we all know is a history nerd so it won’t be farfetched to say he may study Latin or history and specialize in Roman history. He could be a Latin professor, and Piper would be a state senator, they would be married by 22 and have three kids by 30.”

Nico laughed at that, and at every single thing that Will had said about the graduating class that he could see happen. Once Will was done with them, he moved on to their class. This time diving into more detail as Will knew more about their classmates than the seniors.

“Connor Stoll won’t follow the footsteps of his brother. He would probably go to a state university or a local college….” Will then clarified and went into depth about how he envisioned what the younger Stoll brother would do.

He then went on in great detail about each of their classmates. He carried on about Leo, how the teen would open his own mechanic’s store, which does a range of things from fixing cars to creating new mechanical devices. The shop would also be run by a lot of robots, which Leo had invented.

“Hazel would go for an art degree,” he stated, knowing Hazel the second-longest out of all their friends. It came with spending a lot of time with Nico, even though Hazel only came into the picture during 7th grade. “She would have two jobs, her main job is designing jewelry and basically own a jewelry store. The other would be more like a side job, she would draw murals and paintings which she would sell at exhibitions.”

“Frank would be a totally supportive boyfriend, he would follow in his family's footsteps and join the army. But I doubt he would want to leave Hazel behind so I could see him joining the police force instead.” Will looked at Nico and contemplated continuing with what he wanted to say. “They might every marry young, in the next year or two even.”

“What about you?” Nico asked, ignoring what Will had just said about his sister. Nico had a very strong stance about marrying young and that people should be at least 25 years old before they got married. They had been talking over an hour now, just laying there, side by side under the moonlight.

“I’m going to pre-med and then med school.” Nico knew that answer. Ever since they were children, Will had kept saying how he wanted to be a doctor. “I started looking at applications, but it’s all overwhelming. I have several schools in mind, but I have to decide if I want to become a pediatrician or a trauma surgeon. I have so many options, John Hopkins University, USC San Francisco, Duke University, or University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.”

“They’re all great schools,” Nico replied, feeling a sense of pride for his friend. At the same time, he felt a bit nauseous at the thought of Will being far away from him. “You are smart enough to get in these schools, I mean you know all these complicated and big medical words.”

“They’re not that complicated,” Will retorted with a roll of his eyes. “I have to do well in my classes next year, I’m taking so many advanced classes.”

“And where do I go?” Nico asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. “Where will I be?” He studied Will’s face, searching for an answer, but Will had returned his gaze to the sky with a hum.

He seemed lost in thought before he turned to look back at Nico. They were laying down side by side, gazing into each other’s eyes. “I always saw you in an Ivy League school. I don’t know why. Some part of me sees you going to Cambridge or Oxford University. The weather over there is so gloomy you will love it.”

Nico let out a small chuckle, and a wide smile made its way on his face as he listened to Will. “You are unbelievably talented and smarts, you have lots of interests that you could do anything you want. One of the things that define you is your sense of justice, and that makes me think you would pursue a degree in law, maybe go to Harvard Law school or Yale. NYU and Colombia are also options. I know you love New York, so it’s not far fetched.”

“What if I don’t want to study law,” Nico countered. Somehow, their hands got entangled together, with Will’s thumb rubbing soothing circles on the back of Nico’s hand.

“Something related to the arts then. I know you love writing. Maybe you will be an author one day,” Will smiled. “Or a book editor, but you are quite a critic so who knows how that will pan out.” Nico laughed loudly, giving Will a friendly shove while contemplating pushing him off the roof.

“Honestly, though,” Will continued, sounding a bit wistful as he looked at Nico with an unreadable look. “I would wish that we go to the same school, or even different schools but in the same city. We could rent an apartment and live there together. Split the rent halfway, I clean, you cook. I would always be up late studying but crash around midnight, and you would have a late schedule doing your work because you are a night owl. The apartment would have two bedrooms, a study room, a living room, and a big kitchen so you can create wonderful dishes in your free time. It should be big enough for guests and when we invite our friends over, and they can crash on our big and comfy couch which turns to a sofa bed. We will live in a building with a ‘no parties’ rule, so it will be quiet for us.”

Nico had filtered Will’s voice out, his gaze was focused solely on his friend. Looking at him lying down there on the roof next to him under the night sky. Their hands linked together, their foreheads touching, Will’s body heat radiating against him. Nico didn’t care how they became to be like this, but he felt so happy and content at the moment. He could listen to Will talk on and on about their future. He wouldn’t mind getting lost in those sparkly blue eyes for all eternity, as long as Will was by his side.

Nico found himself being mesmerized and so enamored by Will. He had always had a small attraction towards the blonde, he knew when to appreciate a good looking man. But never before had he felt such strong feelings of attraction, with the added idea that they could spend their futures together. Living in the same house. Seeing each other every day for the next few years, it made his heart soar in happiness.

His head tilted forward, his eyes kept darting between Will’s eyes and lips. Did Will just stop talking? Nico didn’t know. All he knew is that he dipped his head forward and pressed his lips against Will’s. It was a soft and a quick kiss. Nico pulled back with wide eyes and sputtered, “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten into me!”

Will looked at Nico with half-lidded eyes. He pulled Nico back to him and crashed their lips once more. This time the kiss was much more fiercer, more passionate. He could feel Will’s hand cupping his cheeks. He kissed back harder, fisting Will’s shirt in his hands, pulling their bodies closer. His whole body trembled with excitement and happiness, feeling imaginary sparks in the background.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a while,” Will panted as they parted away, his cheeks flushed crimson. Nico hummed, a shy smile on his face as he leaned onto Will’s chest, trying to hide his blush. “I really really like you in a romantic way,” Will confessed, “I never thought you would feel the same about me.”

“I like you too,” Nico declared with a soft chuckle. He raised his head to look at Will and pressed a kiss on his jaw. “fI had feelings for you for a long time now. I never acted on my feelings out of fear of losing you.”

“You can never lose me sunshine,” Will reassured, using his no-nonsense tone. “No matter what you do, you can never get rid of me.”

Nico laughed and wrapped his arms around Will hugging him. “Glad to know that cause I’m never letting you go.”


	5. “Anyone could tell from here.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will has a day off from the infirmary and Nico planned a nice picnic for them.
> 
>  **Prompt:** “anyone could tell from here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really need to get a schedule on this stuff but I was busy reading several books that I forgot to update this fic, even though I have written the ten chapters and all I need to do is proofread them.
> 
> **Warnings:** Jason is alive here. But he and Piper have broken up

After a very taxing week, Will had finally managed to get a break from the infirmary for an entire day. Springtime had meant a lot of hay-fever breakouts and allergies going around. His last patient had been discharged last night, and Will was beat. That morning, he was surprised to find his boyfriend waiting by his door at 9am, a basket in his hand.

He and Nico had been dating since November after a month of back and forth flirting. Coming out was a huge ordeal to Nico, and everyone had made sure to make the son of Hades accepted. He had even gained higher levels of respect from several campers. Even though they had both been dating for a while now, they never put their relationship on blast. It benefited them both that way. Nico was a private person by nature, and Will disliked nosy people putting their two cents in his relationships. He knew Nico wasn’t a fan of PDA and so they kept their interactions to a friendly level in public.

Nico had been through a lot for a 15-year-old boy. And Will understood Nico’s need for space and privacy, but that did not stop him from being proud of his boyfriend. He could see the effects of therapy on Nico, how he seemed to leave his shell some days, how he sometimes had a spring to his step. There were rare moments and days when Nico would not shy away from affection. Sometimes he would be bold and initiate a kiss or a hug, not caring if someone was around. 

It was one of those rare days. Nico had risen early, by his standards, and was standing in front of the Apollo cabin. Nico always made sure to wake up no earlier than 10am. Always waking at noon, that is if he had slept that night. Will was thankful that he was dressed and ready for the day. He raised a questioning eyebrow, noting Nico’s appearance. 

“Good morning,” Nico greeted cheerfully. He stepped forward, setting the basket aside, and gave Will a hug.

“Morning to you too sunshine,” Will replied as he returned the hug, and Nico pressed a kiss on his cheek. That was all the confirmation that Will needed to know that Nico was in one of his rare and affectionate moods today. He felt like it was a prize for all the hard work he did. “I feel like there is a catch,” he confessed, feeling a bit ashamed. He invited Nico in while he went to wear his shoes.

“It’s your day off,” Nico answered as if it was the most obvious thing ever. He gave Will one of his softer smiles, “I want to spend the day with you.”

Will felt his heart skip a few beats at that statement. He laced their hands together and went to the dining pavilion to get breakfast. He may have already eaten a few hours ago, but Nico hadn’t. Will didn’t mind accompanying Nico and sitting with him while he ate. Nico ate two sandwiches before standing up and dragging Will with him.

“You barely ate anything, two cheese sandwiches and a juice is not a proper breakfast,” Will protested, tugging at his boyfriend’s hand. He wanted to drag Nico back to eat; it was still several hours before lunch would be served. 

Nico just raised the picnic basket as if it was a proper reason, but that only served to confuse Will. “I’m taking you to a picnic, I just wanted to have something light before we go,” Nico explained. Will looked down at his clothes and deemed them appropriate for the occasion. A pair of shorts, a worn but comfy hoodie, and slip-on shoes. Nico was dressed similarly as he always did, jeans, a shirt, and a jacket, all in black.

They linked their hands together and made their way to the strawberry field. Taking their time and swinging their hands as they walked. Will was humming a tune under his breath, and Nico had a small blush decorating his cheeks, a smile on his face. They wandered around the field before they settled in a spot that was far away from the noise and other campers, but close enough for them to rush in case there was trouble.

They spent the rest of their morning just lying down on the picnic blanket, chatting, and basking in each other’s presence. Nico laughed at some joke that Will had said; it was loud and unsuppressed. To Will, it sounded like ringing bells, and that made him fall in love more and more. The sun rose higher in the sky as noon came around. Nico had pulled out several pre-packed meals from the basket and set them in the middle of the blanket, between the two of them.

They sat down and ate their lunch, which Nico had prepared himself. He woke up early that day and went to the kitchen to prepare several tomato mozzarella panini sandwiches and turkey bagels. He was proud of himself when he saw that the final product looked edible. Nico had spent the entire time as they ate, talking animatedly about his adventures when he was away from camp. His hands moving in wide gestures, uncaring if he hit someone.

As they finished their meals, Nico took their waste and food wrappers and tossed them back into the basket. They saw a few members of the Demeter cabin scattered around the field tending to the strawberries or harvesting them. Will smiled as he stood up and went towards one of them, asking for a basket so they could pick some strawberries. 

When he arrived, Nico pecked him on the lips, and Will felt the taste of the strawberries on the younger’s lips. Will smiled and licked his lips, savoring the taste, as he looked at Nico questioningly. Sure enough, the younger demigod had soft pink stained lips, and a few calyxes were set on a waste plate. Next to that plate was another plate filled with picked strawberries, that Will had to wonder when he picked them.

“Nico,” Will called out in a scolding and teasing tone.

“Will,” Nico retorted, a smirk on his face, knowing where this conversation is heading.

“You are not supposed to eat the strawberries without washing or cleaning them,” he scolded. Nico grinned widely before raising a bottle of water in his hand, indicating that he had washed the strawberries. The two stared at each other before bursting into laughter, with Will throwing an arm around Nico and nuzzling into his neck affectionately.

They had spent the rest of their afternoon in the field, only going to the dining pavilion to have a grab their lunch and returning back to the field. The spent their time either running around the fields or collecting strawberries into baskets. They had filled three baskets and were taking their time filing the fourth. Their screams of joy and loud laughs could be heard from afar. 

The campers around the field have opted to ignore them with a roll of their eyes. Though, some were pissed but decided to let it slide as they helped with the strawberry picking.

It was around 3 when Jason Grace landed next to Thalia’s pine tree. As he reached the big house, he could see Nico and Will running around. Flying to stand atop the hill, he had a much-cleared view of the fields. Jason had just returned from an extended mission for his role as Pontifex Maximus and was somewhat exhausted. He had tensed when he faintly heard Nico yelp but then relaxed as he realized that he was having fun with Will.

Jason was the first person to know about Nico’s sexuality. He was there watching as he slowly opened up to camp, to becoming friends with Will Solace from the Apollo cabin. The only thing he didn’t know was the extent of their friendship or relationship. He recalls Nico telling him about the boys he found attractive at camp, that was back in early September, and that Will Solace was on that list.

He focused his gaze on the two boys. Nico had said something to Will, sporting a cheeky grin before he burst into a sprint. Will stood there for a second before running after him, yelling obscenities. However, if the way Will was blushing any indicator, it had meant that he didn’t mind what Nico had told him. Nico looked over his shoulder before turning around for a second to taunt Will, urging him to run faster.

They kept running around the field, careful not to trample over the strawberries and dodging anything that was lying around. Will reached out with his hand, grabbing Nico’s shirt from the back and sending them both tumbling to the ground. “Gotcha,” Will grinned as he pinned Nico’s wrists next to his head.

Nico pouted and gave Will the puppy dog eyes, but the son of Apollo did not pudge. He grinned and started peppering Will’s face and neck with kisses. Once Will had loosened his grip in surprise, Nico wiggled out and began running into a sprint once more. They kept that continuous cycle for a while. Nico would say something to Will that would cause the blonde to either blush or yell, and then they would start running around the field with Nico constantly taunting Will.

Will would then catch up to Nico and send them to the ground, rolling in the dirt. They would lay there catching their breaths, kissing each other, and collecting a few strawberries. And so the cycle went, with Nico radiating happiness and wearing his biggest smile. 

Jason was surprised seeing the amount of PDA going on, but he was even more taken aback to find out that the two had been dating, and Nico had never told him about it or even vaguely mentioned it. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Valentina Diaz, one of Aphrodite’s daughters, Piper’s sister, making her way towards him. He tensed as he watched her get closer. He wanted to bolt out of there. Even though he and Piper had broken up, he found it difficult to be in her siblings' presence as they reminded him of the meddling of Hera and Aphrodite in his life.

She stood there next to him, not saying a single word. She kept her gaze on the strawberry field, where Nico and Will were running around and being cutesy. “They’re cute together, aren’t they?” She said with a knowing smile on her face. 

Jason looked around before he confirmed that Valentina is indeed talking to him. He returned his gaze back to the field, “yeah, I guess,” he shrugged. A part of him had been hurt about not knowing, but Jason knew that it probably slipped Nico’s mind. After all, Jason had avoided talking about relationships and romance in general. “I –, uhh… Nico. He never told me that he was dating Will. He mentioned finding him good looking, but that’s all.”

“Hmm…” Valentina gave him a skeptical look, making him uneasy as if she didn’t believe his word. Even though it was Piper who had broken up with him, he always got dirty looks from her siblings and friends, as if he was the one who dumped her. “They are a very private couple,” she commented, “they never show off their relationship. We only found out because they are together whenever they can, and there is this thing of theirs, the ‘ _doctor’s note,_ ’ which they pull out to stay together.”

“Doctor’s note?” Jason quirked a brow, curious about what that means. He returned his gaze to look at the couple, they were sitting next to each other. Their shoulders were touching, and Will was saying something to Nico as they pilled the strawberries inside the basket. Jason took note of the new basket next to them. When had they filled the other one and got this new basket? He could’ve sworn that all they did was mess around in the past few minutes.

“It’s something that they use on Chiron so that they can be paired up for their chores and tasks,” Valentina explained with a hint of amusement in her voice. “Though, I doubt that Chiron actually believes a single thing on that _note_. I guess that he lets them be as long as they don’t rub it in everyone’s face, and really it’s easier to let them have their way than telling them no.”

“I see,” Jason hummed. He really was curious about what was written on that note. As he looked at them, he thought that if he didn’t know any better, he would say that the two were actually really close friends from the way they interacted. Jason always knew that Nico disliked touch and human contact, feeling like his personal space is invaded. But now, watching him being in close contact with Will, and even initiating that contact, Jason was slightly shocked.

Valentina looked at him before letting out a chuckle, “they are very much in love with each other.” They both turned to look at them, “anyone can tell from here,” she added softly after a moment. The soft wind made the trees rustle as if in agreement with that statement as if the nature spirits agree.

Jason nodded as he found himself also agreeing with that statement. He knew that Nico could become so closed off and shutting people out. But he could never deny the happiness radiating from Hades's son, which is a foreign thing. But Jason couldn’t help but think that this happiness is long overdue. With a last look, Jason turned away and headed back to his cabin to rest for a while. He could grill and tease Nico about his relationship later, but for now, he will let them be.

Come sunset, and the two demigods walked back to the hearth, hand in hand. They took the picnic basket to the hades cabin, throwing it by the door before they went to hang out with their friends. Jason surprised Nico with his sudden appearance during dinner, and he saw how Nico bought out the ‘doctor’s note’ so that he could sit with Jason. The roman demigod laughed and invited Nico, as they chatted away during dinner. 

When everyone went to the campfire that night, Jason saw Nico talking to Will and decided to fly over. “As much as I want to see you embarrass yourself, I want to hang out with Jason before he leaves for who knows how long,” Nico said, giving Will a squeeze.

“It’s okay,” Will smiled and pressed a quick kiss on Nico’s cheek. “He is your friend, and I can never stop you from hanging out with your friends.”

Jason had decided that he approved of that relationship at that moment. He had managed to gather a few things about the couple. He saw how they would steal glances during dinner. How their eyes told everyone of their love if people had looked long enough. Jason flew down, causing Will to yelp in surprise and for Nico to inhale a sharp breath. “Or the three of us could hang out together and catch me up to date,” he interrupted with a teasing grin.

Nico blushed madly and looked at the ground, a slight look of shame crossed his face. “Jason!” he exclaimed, taking note of his and Will’s linked hands, “I can explain. I didn’t mean to forget telling you, it’s just I didn’t have the chance.”

Will slightly glared at Jason before squeezing Nico’s hand reassuringly. The two of them had stood closer to each other subconsciously as if the other was a soothing presence. The three of them had ended up sitting next to each other, with Jason learning how the two have gotten together and every milestone of their relationship. As they talked, Jason could see the adoring looks they threw the other, how they flushed madly and shyly when talking about the other. Yes, Jason concluded, they were very much in love.


	6. “Are you finishing that or…?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katie Gardner decides to organize a picnic for the whole camp and gives Nico a personal invitation.
> 
>  **Prompts:** “are you finishing that or…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in a row!!! Wow, that's a new record for me.
> 
> I have already written this a long time now and seeing the feedback from the last chapter I thought I could post this chapter earlier than I wanted. Please leave a review and tell me how I can improve.
> 
> This isn't explicitly Solangelo, but I had this idea of Nico interacting with some of Demeter's children and I thought of this. You could say this is sort of a pre-relationship fic.
> 
>  **Warnings:** Mention of Nico turning to a plant = traumatic experience.

For the last week of summer, Katie Gardner had decided to set up a picnic for the whole camp. Organizing a picnic for over a hundred demigods was not an easy feat, but Katie was determined. She wanted to give the campers, mainly the summer campers and the ones leaving for college, a farewell feast. 

Organizing the whole thing took her about a week. She had enlisted the help of her siblings and a few Athena campers; without them, it would have been impossible. A week prior to the set date, Katie made an announcement during dinner. She had invited all of the campers and nature spirits, asking them to ‘RSVP’ if they wished to come. She highlighted how important the RSVP is so that she can count them in and make the necessary seating arrangements.

That night, after dinner, she made a beeline towards the Hades cabin. Ever since Nico di Angelo had decided to stay in camp for the year, she had noticed his presence more. He was putting an effort to hang out with other people, even if the situation made him uncomfortable. It was one of his personality traits that made her admire him, even though part of her feared him slightly. However, every time she looked at him, the motherly part in her would always tell her that his thinness and paleness were not healthy. His eyes told her the story of a lost and confused child, and that only made her want to hug him.

“Nico,” she called out as she saw him about to reach the Hades cabin. Nico stopped and turned to look at her, confusion written in his eyes and body slightly tensed. “I know huge gatherings are not your scene, and you may want to skip out, but it would be really nice if you can make it. If you want, I can arrange your seating to your preference.”

Nico stood there, contemplating his choices. While he would really like avoiding noises and social situations, here was Katie, going out of her way to invite him personally. It would be rude for him to decline. besides, he sees the same people during dinner every day; a picnic won’t change that. “The picnic sounds nice, and I really don’t mind where I sit as long as it’s not noisy,” he smiled. Katie thanked him with a smile before leaving him alone.

A few days later, she sat with a crumpled piece of paper in her hands. She had been continuously erasing and changing what she had jotted down for the seating arrangement. Every time she added a name, she had to change the entire arrangement as she didn’t want a fight to break out, either between campers or nymphs. 

The whole time she had kept Nico in mind, searching for the perfect location. She had him sit opposite her, sandwiched between Pollux from the Dionysus cabin and the Stoll twins, the bane of her existence. She wanted the twins within sight and knew that they were friends with Nico. And she had a feeling that Nico will hit it off with Pollux, and she needed to prevent him from turning grapes into wine.

The morning of the picnic was an ordeal. Several campers, including the Stolls, were unhappy with their seating arrangements as it prevented them from causing chaos. All it took was a single glare to shut them up and settle down/

As Nico sat down, he noticed that the picnic mat was very long, spanning 60 feet and made of a patchwork of different smaller mats. There were multiple rows of mats set next to each other on the grass field, enough to fit all campers, nymphs, and satyrs. In the row behind him, several Apollo and Athena campers were chatting together about theatre and arts. 

Scanning his row, Nico could see several familiar faces. Most of them were considered trouble makers; the list included the Stolls, Clarisse, Percy, and the Nike siblings, to name a few. It only made sense that Katie wanted to lump them together, where she can keep an eye on them. Even Chiron had taken a seat at the end of this mat, perhaps to keep them in line.

At the start of the picnic, Nico was awkward and anxious. He waited for people to sneer and cuss at him. He stayed tense, waiting for something that he did that would tick a Demeter camper, and then he would be turned into a plant. He guessed it was the trauma from _that_ time in Venice. He had developed a dislike towards Demeter and her spawns, whether they are immortal or mortal. However, sitting here in a picnic organized by such spawn, Nico knew better than to voice his thoughts out.

When people started to invite him into their conversations, he began to relax and enjoy himself. He liked chatting with Pullox and the few campers around him. Their conversations constantly changed from topic to topic, talking about their schools, families, and lives in the mortal world. No matter what the topic was, they always found a way to include Nico in the conversation. He lost himself making new friends and ignored his initial plan of leaving after lunch.

For some unfathomable reason, the conversation took a turn towards curses and how the Apollo kids can curse people to talk in songs or poems. Or how the Aphrodite cabin can curse you with permanent makeup. Some campers envied the ability to curse people, while others shuddered at the mere thought of being cursed.

People started to laugh at the expense of the Stoll's, who were always the receiving end of curses in camp. Then someone mentioned how Mr.D’s threats of turning them to dolphins, making people laugh and contemplate on how real that threat is.

“At least Mr.D warns us,” Percy shouted from one end of the row to the other. He was sitting about 20 feet away from Katie, next to Annabeth. “Didn’t Persephone turn you into a daisy that one-time mid-conversation, Nico?” he asked, making a few campers laugh.

Nico felt steam bursting from his ears as he flushed deeply in embarrassment. He really hated Percy at the moment. Nico clenched and unclenched his fists in anger. He was finally having fun and even making some newer friends. Specially Pollux, chatting with him was fun and enlightening. But here comes Percy Jackson ruining things for him.

From the corner of his eyes, Nico could see that his anger and frustration were causing the grass underneath him to whither. As he tried to stand up and leave to save himself from the embarrassment, a hand made its way around his shoulder, pulling him back down. It was Connor Stoll, and he flashed Nico, a reassuring smile that slightly helped calm him down.

“Ignore them,” Katie glared at Percy. “You were enjoying yourself, don’t let stupid people ruin your day.”

Nico looked around and saw that people were not laughing or actively making fun of him; instead, some were telling Percy off. “I really want to reach that level of pissing someone off that they turn me to a plant instead of killing me,” Connor joked.

“Connor,” Katie scolded. The younger Stoll looked a bit remorseful as he released Nico from his hold. “If you don’t mind me asking,” Katie began as she turned her gaze towards Nico, “what was it like being a plant?”

“Why?” Nico hissed, his guard lifting up. From the way she had acted, he had expected her to drop the subject, not poke her nose in it.

Katie pressed her lips together and studied Nico for a moment. “I’ve been having some difficulties with my powers,” she admitted, looking down in shame as if it was something to be embarrassed about. “I’m having a hard time reading plants ever since the war, and I was wondering if you could tell what made you tick as a plant. I’m not trying to be rude here.”

Nico relaxed for a second, but unfortunately, he couldn’t provide any help. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “If it’s any consolation, it felt like being stuck in a dream where I was wandering around in a field of daisies. And when I was returned back to normal, I was out of it and lethargic.”

Katie sighed with disappointment evident on her face. She fiddled with her hand and looked around, her gaze settling at her siblings, chatting with the nature spirits. Nico had to wonder if she was feeling a bit envious of her siblings for not having any difficulties with their powers. He felt bad for her. “The next time I run into Persephone, I could ask her for some advice,” he offered/

Katie’s face lit up at the offer. “Really?” she asked enthusiastically. She had jumped out of her seat and leaned over the picnic mat as she held Nico’s hands in hers. “Thank you so much!”

Nico pulled his hands away and rubbed the back of his neck. “I-It’s nothing,” he mumbled, a rosy blush on his cheeks. Several campers had turned around to look at the commotion; some were hollering and whistling at them, thinking that they were flirting, utterly unaware of Nico’s sexuality.

“Sorry, no touching, right?” Katie apologized and returned to her seat on the other side of the mat. She buzzed with excitement and looked at Nico with a wide grin and rocking back and forth in her seat on the ground.

“What?” Nico asked her as he took a sip of his lemonade. He kept his tone as less hostile as possible, but Katie looked like she was about to burst.

“Can you tell me about Persephone?” She inquired. “She’s kind of a legend for Demeter’s children, and I heard that she has an impressive garden in the underworld. What is it like?”

And so, Katie had managed to make the conversation entirely about her immortal sister. Nico at first didn’t say much, just short, clipped answers. But soon, he had opened up, and they were in an in-depth conversation about the queen of the underworld and what her presence means.

“It all depends on her mood,” Nico spoke. “Somedays she wants roses. Red, white, pink, doesn't matter as long as it as a rose. Other times she wants specific colored plants. I mean, she once filled the garden with green plants, the first time I ever saw green roses.”

“I never saw green roses,” Katie commented in awe. “I heard that they were rare things, but I never got the chance to see one with my own eyes.”

“Rare or not, it doesn’t make a difference,” Nico added. “If the queen wants it, she will get it. One time she was upset, so Hades gave her a 200-pound bouquet made of precious jewels in the form of flowers. Roses made from rubies, hydrangeas made of topaz. Name a flower, and it’s probably in that bouquet made of stones.”

“Wow!”

“I know,” Nico laughed, “talk about being extravagant.”

The two of them lapsed into a comfortable silence, both content at this moment in time. “The food is delicious, thank you for organizing all of this,” Nico commended Katie for her efforts. “Do you do this…organize a picnic every year?”

“Thanks, and you’re welcome,” Katie blushed, as she beamed at the praise. “It’s the first time I organize something of this scale. Usually, it’s small things, but never this big.”

“You did a really great job,” he praised and took a bite from a strawberry from the plate set in front of him. “I may not know much about organizing things, but pulling all of this together is not an easy thing to do.”

“Oh,” she smiled and then added. “I kinda want to be an outdoor event organizer, so it’s good that my first unofficial project went well.”

“You’re leaving for college this year, right?”

Katie nodded, “I’m getting a degree in hospitality and management.”

“Isn’t that like…something for people who run hotels and stuff?” Nico asked, recalling his meager knowledge in the hospitality field. Katie shook her head and explained what her degree entails and her future plans. Nico ended up becoming invested in the conversation and blocked everything except for Katie. He really found what she was talking about to be more interesting than learning about a prank and the aftermath. He was glad that he could make someone that happy by asking a simple question. It made him feel wanted.

Likewise, Katie was happy that someone had taken an interest in her aspirations and what she wants to do outside of being a demigod. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed people trying to stir some trouble, but she ignored them in favor of talking to Nico. Talking to him was enlightening, and Katie wondered why she never made an effort to talk to him. 

It was a weird sight to look at. A daughter of Demeter talking very loudly to a son of Hades who was talking back with equal enthusiasm. Honestly, the wide hand gestures and forgotten, untouched food was a big telltale. Katie pretended not to notice when Will asked Pollux to switch places with him. It was obvious that Will wanted to hang out with Nico. It’s a miracle that it had taken him this long to switch places. Nico, on the other hand, quite evidently, hadn’t noticed the change.

“Exactly,” Nico laughed loudly. “There are warning signs and a hundred different things telling you not to go inside, how stupid must they be.”

“Ohh,” she breathed, wiping a tear from her eye, her smile wide. They have been talking about their interests, which then turned to movies and books they enjoyed. Nico had mentioned his distaste for cliche haunted house and slasher movies and stories. 

Will reached for his plate to get another bite of his grapes but found it empty. He had been sitting there for a while, trying to keep up with Nico’s and Katie’s conversation. He eyed Nico’s plate, the strawberries untouched for some time now. As the two tried to catch their breath after laughing for so long, he decided to take the opportunity. “Are you finishing that or…?,” he asked, pointing at the plate.

At hearing a voice that was not Pollux’s, Nico quickly turned his head to the side that it almost gave him whiplash. His eyes widened as he saw Will sitting close by next to him; he didn’t even notice. He had become fast friends with Will and had developed a small crush on him. Though Nico kept that to himself, afraid of ruining a new friendship.

“W–What? W–When did you come here,” he sputtered, a blush on his cheeks as he pointed an accusatory finger at Will. Nico looked around in search of Pollux, only to find him sitting in the row behind him, where Will was sitting.

“A few minutes ago, but you two were deep in conversation that you didn’t notice,” Will shrugged. “Anyways, are you finishing that or what? I’m kinda still hungry. Can I have it? Please.”

Nico looked down at his forgotten plate. He didn’t mind sharing with Will, who looked a bit hungry. “Oh, no, I mean yes, you can have it,” Nico scrambled as he pushed the plate towards Will. They lapsed into an awkward silence with Nico watching Will pick one strawberry and eat it.

“So….” Nico began, making things even more awkward than before. He studied Will’s face for a moment while racking his brain for a conversation topic. “How are you enjoying your picnic so far?” he asked, after deeming it a safe conversation starter.

“It’s fun,” Will admitted, giving Katie a smile. “A nice change of pace.”

“I know,” Nico agreed, “I told Katie that. But she doesn’t really think it's that good of a picnic.”

“I’m honestly surprised that a fight didn’t break out,” Will laughed, recalling how he thought he wouldn’t enjoy the picnic because he would have to heal someone. “That means you did something right.”

“I’m still far from good,” Katie argued, “I could’ve done things better, and I had to rely on a lot of people to make this possible.”

“Did you know that Katie wants to be an event manager,” Nico asked Will with a proud smile. He looked like a father boasting about his daughter’s success. “We should hire her if we ever want to have an event at camp.”

Will nodded, and Nico steered the conversation back towards Katie. Mentally berating himself for using the word ‘we,’ as if that could ever mean that he and Will would have something. He and Katie continued where they carried off, but this time Nico made sure to involve Will in their conversation.

Katie smiled and laughed with the two demigods. Her eyes twinkled as she saw them sharing the strawberry plate together, and how they would brush their hands by accident. She pretended not to notice how close they were sitting next to each other. Wondering when did they scoot over, to the point their shoulders are touching. Their hands resting on the grass next to each other, an inch apart. She could see Will’s fingers twitching, wanting to close that distance. She could see the blushes on their faces and the stolen glances.

Katie smirked with a knowing glint in her eyes as she connected the dots. She understood that Nico was a private person, and she is making assumptions here. She had every reason to believe that the two boys are crushing on each other and that it’s endearing to watch them trying to do something about it.

Sitting there, she promised herself to never mention it to anyone. She would do nothing until Nico came out on his own terms, that is, if she was correct in her assumption. Will had come out, identifying as bisexual a year ago, right after the battle of Manhattan. That made her confident about Will’s obvious crush. Or maybe she was misreading the whole thing.

But then Nico smiled widely and clutched his sides as he laughed at something Will had said. He was leaning towards the blonde, who had a wide smile and was suppressing a laugh. They were flushed and giving each other heart eyes. Yup, there was definitely something there.

As far as picnics go, Katie was sure this was considered to be a fairly good one. However, if she got to live to organize another picnic next year, then not only would she do it better, but she would put the two next to each other. She doesn’t care how long it will take them to realize the other's feelings as long as they get together. She would root for them and have their backs and protect such a precious relationship. 


	7. “are you stupid or stupid?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Nico get paired up for their history project.
> 
> **Prompt:** “are you stupid or stupid?”

Nico walked into the classroom just as the bell about to ring. It was his first class of the day, and it had to be history with Mr. Quintus. Truth to be told, Nico was not a morning person. And, he was certainly not looking forward to sitting through an hour of learning mildly incorrect facts and things that he already knew. Nico took his usual seat at the back of the class and placed his bag on the floor.

As the bell rang and the rest of the class started to take their seats, Nico contemplated covering his face with his AC/DC hoodie and just sleep. He was no delinquent or trouble maker per se, but he had a bad-boy reputation. He guesses it was because of the way he always dresses in all black and wears ripped jeans and band tees or hoodies. Or maybe it was because of his no-nonsense attitude and lack of trust. Either way, he thought that he might as well play into his reputation.

Mr. Quintus began class as always by quickly going over what they had covered in the previous lesson. Nico tuned him out and thought of ways he could get away with taking a nap in this class. He was sure that Mr. Quintus had an extra sense or an eye in the back of his head to know when people are not paying attention. But at the same time, he felt like Mr. Quintus had it for him ever since he corrected the teacher at the start of the year. Nico had given his all on class assignments back then, but whatever he did, he never got anything above a 92. And so, he stopped putting all of his effort.

History class was the same as always, only this time they were starting a new unit. Mr. Quintus rattled off some random facts about world war 2 before he went on to explain the upcoming assignment. “You will be paired up,” he stated, “it will be worth 15% of your final grade.”

There were some groans and some whopping around the class. Several students broke into chatter amongst themselves, trying to partner up with their friends. “Don’t get ahead of yourselves,” Mr. Quintus interrupted the class. “I have set up a randomizer app using your seat numbers to pair you up.”

The students grumbled in annoyance, but one look from Mr. Quintus has shut them up. And so he began calling the students from their seat numbers. Nico tried to tune him out but kept an ear for his name. “Seat 26, Nico di Angelo with seat 38, Will Solace.”

Nico froze in his seat as he looked at his partner. Up ahead in the front row, Will Solace had turned around to wave at Nico with a stupid smile on his face. Nico cursed his fate as he returned the gesture.

It wasn’t that he hated Will; rather, he disliked him. A lot. Will Solace was a school favorite and a somewhat teacher’s pet. He always sat in the front, greeted everyone with a warm smile, and had an overall cheery personality. To add to his likable personality, Solace was also aiming to be a doctor, making everyone swoon.

Nico shares 4 classes with Will: history, biology 2, calculus, and music. Will had excelled at the first three subjects, but when it came to music, he had a hard time carrying a tune. That was the one class that Nico felt superior to Will, and he was eternally smug about it.

As Mr. Quintus finished off the list of pairs, he asked the students to move next to their partners and discuss what topic they will choose for their projects. Nico saw Will grab his bag and make his way to the back of the class. Good, Nico wouldn’t have to move.

As Will sat down next to Nico and placed his bag on the floor, Nico couldn’t help but notice the pride pin on the bag. It was another thing that Nico had both had disliked and envied. Will was out and proud about being bisexual. While Nico knew he was gay since he was 8, but now four years later, he still hadn’t told anyone. Well, the only person he told was his father, and it was by accident.

Shortly after his older sister, Bianca, died when he was 10, Nico was sobbing in his room and got into a heated argument with his father. “It’s my punishment for being gay,” he cried out. Once the words left his mouth, he realized what he just blurted out. He looked at his father in fear and turned to run out of the house. His father approached him and scooped him in his arms. “It’s okay, it’s not your fault, no one is punishing you,” Hades whispered into his son’s ear, mumbling words of comfort as he hugged his son tightly.

Nico knows that he is living and is a part of an accepting community, but sometimes it’s hard to let go of the past. Growing up, he lived in Venice and was raised with a Catholic mindset, which told him that being homosexual was wrong. His mother’s side of the family was very strict about those sorts of things. The di Angelo’s of Venice were a well known and respected family. They raised their children based on a Christian mindset. Sunday masses were a must, and those who miss it are punished.

When Maria di Angelo was knocked up, she and her boyfriend Hades had eloped in a small chapel out of town. It was all so that her family wouldn’t slip when she told them of the news of her pregnancy. But that did not stop her father from figuring the truth out.

Maria had died when he was 9, and he left Venice shortly afterward with his father and older sister. They moved to America, close to Hades’ family. They had barely attended Sunday masses ever since, but the pastor's voice was always in the back of his head. Always telling him that he is broken. That he is not normal.

“So, what topic do you want to cover?” Will asked Nico, pulling him out of his own thoughts. Nico thought it was too early to be smiling and radiating positive energy.

Nico looked at the sheet of paper in front of him with the list of topics. “Let’s do our topic on the aircrafts used in the war,” he replied curtly. He really was not looking forward to this assignment, especially with the headache building in the back of his head.

“Okay,” Will hummed with a nod of his head, “aircrafts it is.”

Nico looked at Will from the corner of his eye as the blonde used a highlighting pen to highlight the topic. Will turned his notebook to an empty page and started brainstorming. “We could talk about the uses of the aircrafts and how they were employed in each side,” Will began as he started writing down his ideas. “Maybe we could focus on them being used in air raids.”

Nico sighed and tuned Will out. Yup, that headache is getting worse. He could see Mr. Quintus preparing for the next class, which should be in about 15 minutes. He grabbed his own notebook and started to doodle in it. The whole time Will was trying to make conversation with Nico, but Nico would ignore him. Every time they lapsed into an awkward silence, Will would go back to trying to make small talk with Nico but to no avail.

“What’s your favorite color?” Will asked after another moment of silence.

“Not important,” Nico mumbled and continued to glare at the clock in front of the class as if it will make time move faster.

“Okay…” Will sighed in dejection.

And so for the next 15 minutes, the cycle went on with Will asking Nico a simple question only to get a curt and clipped reply. The school bell had rung, indicating the end of the first period. They hadn’t made any progress in their project besides choosing a topic.

As Nico went to grab his bag and leave class, Will grabbed him by his wrist. “Look, Nico,” Will asserted, “you may not care about your grades, but some of us really want to pass and get good grades. We should get a head started on this project instead of leaving it for the last minute.”

Nico glared at Will’s hand, which was gripping onto him tightly. “What do you propose,” he growled and yanked his arms away. He was going to be late for the next period at this rate.

“Let’s meet up after school, and work on the basics, make a plan,” Will answered.

Nico saw that there was no malice behind Will’s intentions. He weighed the pros and cons of such meeting. On the one hand, they could finish the project quickly, but on the other, he would have to spend some time with Will and his blinding optimism with a headache that may not go away.

“Fine, it’s not like I have any plans anyways.” He agreed reluctantly.

“Awesome,” Will grinned. “Library, your place, my place, someplace else?”

Nico thought about it for a moment. He knew that his friends liked to frequent the library, and the probability of getting some work done is near 0. His house was out of the question, and the ‘someplace else’ was vague, and he disliked the idea of going to a coffee shop. “Your house is fine,” he ended up choosing.

“Give me your number so that I can text you the details,” Will beamed and pulled his phone out.

Nico took the phone and inputted his number, then handed it back. “Look, I have second period with Ms. Dodds, so I have to go,” he stated hurriedly and dashed out of the class, heading to Algebra 2 as fast as he can.

He was the last person to enter class, earning him a pointed look from Ms. Dodds. Nico apologized and quickly took his usual seat. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Taking it out, he saw a new text from an unsaved number.

> **_Meet me after school in the left wing parking no later than 3:30pm._ **
> 
> **_Btw this is Will._ **

Nico rolled his eyes at the text and send back his reply before looking back at the board. Typical of Ms. Dodds, diving right into the hard stuff at the start of the class.

The day passed by rather slowly. But on the bright side, he took some aspirin in third period, and his headache had subsided. He saw Will again in music class, with the blonde fumbling around with his sheet music papers. Nico rolled his eyes from his desk as they studied ‘Étude Op. 10, No. 12’; a piano solo written in 1831 written by Chopin.

The rest of his school day was uneventful. Like always, he sat with his friends and kept to himself during lunch. Every time he thought about Will Solace or History, he would get nervous. He was begging to regret agreeing to hang out after school with Will.

He could’ve easily asked him to meet during lunch for 10 or 15 minutes, and they would have a plan already. Nico had thought of their project outline in chemistry, and he knew everything he wanted to include.

And so, Nico found himself at the left-wing parking lot, early by 15 minutes. He had told his sister, Hazel, to go on ahead and that he has plans. He played around with his ring as he kept looking around for Will.

A lot of the students were heading towards this parking, some already boarding busses that are departing. Nico had wished he asked Will for his car details so he could wait there instead of standing in a corner. He looked at his phone to see the time, 3:20pm, hardly 5 minutes have passed since he arrived.

“Hey, Nico!” Will called out, as he jogged towards Nico. His hair was dripping wet, and his face was slightly flushed, two bags slung over his shoulder. “Sorry had gym with coach Hedge,” he apologized. “I didn’t keep you waiting, did I?”

Nico shook his head and walked a few steps towards Will. “No, I just arrived like 5 minutes ago.”

“Oh, thank god,” Will breathed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I thought I have kept you waiting for some time.”

“It’s okay,” Nico replied cooly, “so which one is your car?”

Will looked at Nico, blinking before his face wore a surprised expression. “Oh, I forgot to tell you,” he smacked himself, “we are going by bus.”

“Oh,” Nico blushed at his forwardness and assumptions.

“You don’t mind going by bus, do you?” Will asked. “I usually drive with my younger siblings, but my older brother Lee is visiting, and he sort of took the car.”

Will nodded and led Nico towards the bus labeled as ‘bus 7’. He greeted the driver and directed Nico towards the fourth row, where they settled down. “Hey, Will,” greeted someone from behind. Nico turned his head around and saw a brown-haired boy and a dark-haired girl sitting in the row behind them. He immediately recognized the boy as Cecil Markowitz from his chemistry class and the girl as Lou Ellen Blackstone from his algebra 2 class. He forgot that they were friends with Will; they were loud while he was quiet.

“Hey guys,” Will greeted back, turning in his seat to give Cecil a high-five.

“is that Nico?” Cecil asked, pointing towards Nico, much to the latter’s dismay. Cecil was the kind of loud and obnoxious person who Nico tried to avoid. “I never saw you on the bus before, I thought you walked home.”

“He’s coming with me so that we could work on our history assignment,” Will answered before Nico could say anything. Nico just shrugged and pulled his phone out. The bus soon started moving, and Will had settled back on his seat but slightly turned to the side so he could chat with his friends.

It was the first time Nico had ridden a bus after school. He never counted school trips as those were different; they were supervised. This was more like a jungle. People were throwing things around and chatting loudly. Nico decided to listen to some music to pass the time.

The whole ride, he kept glancing at Will for directions. He didn’t want anyone knowing that he lacked bus etiquette. Everyone just assumed that Nico walks home, and that was for the better. They thought that him being a part of the popular kid's group was because of his family connection as Percy Jackson’s and Jason Grace’s cousin. Some kept saying that Nico would be kicked out of the group as soon as Percy and Jason graduate. He didn’t care to correct them and kept his personal life as private as possible. He didn’t need to give the students more reason to dislike him. He didn’t want to be a social pariah anymore than he is because of something out of his control.

Sometime later, Will nudged Nico as the bus started slowing down before coming to a stop. “It’s our stop,” he stated, and they both made their way out of the bus and onto the sidewalk. The neighborhood was quite average, with rows of houses lining up the street. From the shape and size of the houses, Nico guessed they were in a middle-class neighborhood.

They stopped at a two-story white house with a black roof. There was a parked sedan in the driveway, and the door to the house was open. Nico could hear two people yelling at each other inside. Will looked at Nico sheepishly, “it’s not much, but this is home,” he smiled. “My family is kind of loud and messy, so I’m sorry about what you will see.”

Nico nodded, understanding what Will meant by a loud family. His direct family wasn’t loud. His house was quiet for most of the time that one would wonder if someone is living there. His extended family was another thing; it was like his boisterous uncles and cousins live by the word ‘loud.’

Stepping into the house, they were greeted by a sight. There standing in front of the door was a tall man who looked a lot like Will, only his hair was tamed, and he wore glasses. Judging from his looks, he would guess that the man was Lee, Will’s older brother. In front of Lee stood a young girl, about 9 or 10 years old, yelling at Lee.

“KAYLA!” Will called out with an authority Nico had never seen. Hell, he didn’t think Will had it in him to be such a commanding person. With a single glance, Kayla quieted down and mumbled an apology before going somewhere in the house. Will sighed and looked at his older brother, “Lee, this is Nico. Nico, this is Lee. We’ll be in my room working on our history project if you need anything.”

“Hi Nico,” Lee beamed and extended his hand to greet Nico.

“Hello,” Nico greeted as he shook Lee’s hands. It was a quick affair as Will pulled him out of Lee’s grip and walked them quickly towards the stairs and his room. Nico noticed a lot of family portraits lining up the wall. Some had Will, others had Lee, some had a boy with brown hair and scrunched up features. Nico had recognized him as a senior, Micheal Yew. He never knew that Micheal and Will lived together, were they brothers? But they had different last names.

Among the pictures, there was another of a fourth boy, but he was African-American. Nico knew that families could be weird; after all, he was a very white and scrawny boy, but his sister had dark skin and was more muscular than him. He recognized a photo of the little girl who threw a tantrum earlier, Kayla. There was a photo of who Nico assumed to be Will’s father; he had the same tanned skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a surfer's body. The only difference was that the man was older, had a few wrinkles, and his hair was slowly starting to grey.

Will had led them towards the second door on the left, which was basically the third room in the hallway. On the door were a bunch of stickers and a nameplate. “Welcome to my room,” Will announced.

He opened the door to reveal a room that was split in half as if an invisible line was drawn in the middle. On one side, the room was a mess, there was a twin-sized bed on the edge, and the wall was covered with various music posters. A saxophone laid on the bed, along with a bunch of clothes and records thrown all around. On the other side, towards the window, there was another bed. This one was neatly made, a desk was next to it with some medical textbooks. It was much tidier and organized compared to the other side.

“I apologize for the mess Austin creates,” Will began sheepishly. “His side of the room will always be messy, no matter how hard I tell him to keep it clean.”

Nico nodded and tried his best not to laugh as they made their way to Will’s bed and settled there. Will had offered Nico his chair at the desk, but Nico insisted that he likes sitting on the bed. He wasn’t lying. Nico always liked to lay down on his stomach and be surrounded by his pillows when he did his work.

As Nico took out his laptop and notebook, the door opened to reveal the African-American boy coming into the room. The boy had regarded Nico for a few seconds before jumping in embarrassment to clean up the room's messy side.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to throw your clothes on the floor? It’s unsanitary,” Will stated.

“Sorry I forgot,” the boy, who now Nico could safely assume was Austin, replied.

“What would Nico say,” Will added.

Nico felt bad for Austin. He knew how hard it is to keep tracking of one’s things. He chucked his pen at Will and gave Austin a smile, “it’s okay. Really, my room isn’t in a better state.”

A moment later, Lee came asking if they wanted to eat anything. Nico shook his head, and Austin replied that he had already eaten before he came up. The young teen had cleaned up his side of the room into a more presentable state. He sat there working on his homework, a middle school math textbook open in front of him.

Nico pulled out his notebook, where he wrote down his idea and handed it to Will. “This is a basic outline that I thought of. We can expand on it for the essay, but the presentation needs to be simple and 10 minutes long. What do you think?”

Will looked at the notebook and noted Nico’s neat handwriting. There were written three sections with bulletin points of what each section includes. The essay's main body had many points, almost 15, covering the different aircraft models and historical events. Some of the events Will hand never heard of but others he knew. “Wow, that’s a lot to cover,” Will commented as he returned the notebook to Nico.

Nico took the notebook back and flipped the page, “I think we could start on the introduction, then maybe we can flesh out other ideas or points we may want to add.”

Will agreed and bought out his own laptop, moving to sit next to Nico on the bed. They began to write the first draft on a shared google document, editing it simultaneously. Within an hour, they had written the introduction and started writing the first paragraph of the main body.

Will was surprised to learn that Nico was actually a history buff. He knew a lot of information about different things, like when the first motor vehicle was created, the types of tanks used in the war, who invented the telescope, and such.

“How do you know all of this? I don’t think we covered it?” Will had asked in surprise when Nico mentioned a random fact about the Battle of Anzio.

“I watch a lot of documentaries and read about history,” Nico shrugged and continued typing away, completely unfazed.

“But, you never pay attention in class or answer anything!”

“That’s cause I corrected Mr. Quintus once, and he had it for me ever since,” Nico frowned. “He never gave me anything higher than A- and I know my work. I deserved better, so I stopped bothering.”

“That’s unfair,” Will pouted. Nico rolled his eyes and continued with their essay. He had written the bulk of it, leaving Will to fact check and reference. Austin had left the room a while ago, leaving the two boys alone doing their work.

“Is your family like mine?” Will asked out of a sudden. “I mean, you are cousins with Percy and Jason, and you didn’t seem fazed by my family. Your’s must be huge.”

Nico raised an eyebrow and gave Will a smirk. “It’s actually relatively small compared to my other relatives. You have what four siblings?”

Will pouted before leaning back in his seat, completely ignoring the project. “Well yeah, my dad is sort of a sleaze,” Will replied with a shrug. “He never really settled down, but that didn’t stop him from having all of us.”

Nico stared at Will, demanding further explanation. “He had Lee when he was 17, then Lee’s mother passed away, so he has like full custody. Then in med school, he met Micheal’s mother, one-night stand, and boom nine months later, Micheal was born. She didn’t want to raise a child, so you could see that. He met my mother a few months later. They dated for a few years and had me. But my mom is a musician; she wants to follow her dreams, so dad has full custody of me while I get to see my mother whenever she is free.”

“You’re all half-siblings? But you have different surnames.”

Will nodded, “he had Austin with a jazz singer, same situation as me. Kayla is the youngest. Dad and his then-boyfriend wanted a child, so they got one through a surrogate. They are no longer together, though, but they have shared custody. And I don’t know why but dad gave us our mother’s last names.”

“Oh,” Nico looked down, blushing, feeling slightly ashamed at prodding.

“He isn’t the greatest father, but he tries,” Will smiled. “Work keeps him away more than we would like. Darren, Kayla’s dad, would check on us from time to time.”

Nico hummed and tried to busy himself. “What about you?” Will asked, “you are avoiding my question.”

“You know… Percy and Jason are my cousins, so that says something,” Nico shrugged nonchalantly. “I grew up in Venice, but we moved to America with my dad when my mom died. I had an older sister, but she passed away. Hazel came into our lives a few years ago. He recently got remarried, so who knows what will happen with that.”

Will nodded and picked his laptop to proof check Nico’s work. “Any hobbies, other than being a total history nerd,” Will asked lightheartedly.

Nico laughed and shoved Will. He laid there, looking at his laptop, contemplating what to say. For everything that happened in school, Nico had expected this to be a disaster. He never thought that he would enjoy Will Solace’s company.

Nico thought that he expected the worse because of the preconceived notion he had about Will. He had always prided himself on not judging people by their looks or by rumors. But it appears that did not include Will.

He had assumed the blonde to be a pretentious prick based on limited interactions. Now that they were here, he could see that Will is a total nerd. He enjoys watching medical and romantic shows and movies. He was actually quite smart even though he sometimes came off as a bit naive.

Nico barely felt time pass as they worked and learned about each other. He only noticed the time when Hazel sent him a text asking his whereabouts. “Shit,” Nico swore as he sat up and began texting his sister. He jumped off the bed and started wearing his shoes, “I didn’t realize how late it is, I should get going.”

Will looked at the time and frowned, “wow, I didn’t notice the time.”

“Let me just save this,” he mumbled as he reached for his laptop, saving the document and bookmarking some tabs.

“Why don’t you have dinner with us tonight?” Will suggested.

Nico gave Will a questioning look. “You already did a lot of work, I’m pretty sure you just wrote a third of our essay. Let me feed you as a way to repay you.”

Nico snorted at that and decided to set his laptop on the bed. His stomach gave a groan of hunger protest; the snacks he ate were useless. “As long as I am not imposing or anything,” Will grinned at Nico.

“I promise that you are not imposing,” Will jumped from his seat and ran to yell at Lee, informing him that they will have a guest for dinner. They settled in bed and started to talk about random things while waiting for the food to be ready. They stayed on safe topics like school, music, shows, movies, and food.

Dinner was quite an affair. Will’s father had called to say that he won’t be home till late, to which Nico could only guess was a regular occurrence by the way everyone acted. Halfway through dinner, Kayla’s father had called and checked on everyone. For Nico, it was weird, eating dinner without the whole family present. It was probably because of how things were in his own house since they missed lunch and breakfast, dinner was the only meal they shared as a family.

Nico carried his plate to the sink and texted his location to his sister, telling her that he needs picking up. Will came up to him and took the plate from his hands, claiming it was unfair to have guests doing the dishes.

Nico’s phone pinged with a text message. He shot Will a look before replying to it very quickly. “What’s the matter?” Will asked.

Nico, startled, gave Will a small and reassuring smile. “Just my sister telling me that she can’t pick me up, and I have to return home by uber.” He wasn’t the best liar, but he hoped he sounded convincing enough.

Will frowned and quickly glanced at the rest of his family, “I could drive you home.”

“Oh, no no no,” Nico shot down in panic. “I have already ordered one, just a few minutes away. Besides, my house is kinda far from yours.”

“Perhaps next time I can drop you off,” Will replied with a hopeful tone.

They went back to Will’s room to pack Nico’s stuff before bringing them down and sitting in the living room. Lee was trying to get Kayla to bed, and Micheal and Austin were having a debate about a basketball game on TV.

Nico’s phone chimed, and he took that as his queue to leave. He bade the family goodnight before going out the door. “I don’t see any car outside,” Will pointed out as he looked out the window through the blinds.

“Uhhh…umm…,” Nico fumbled, “the car is on the way, and I may have pointed it a little down the road.”

He didn’t give Will the chance to protest or demand walking Nico to the car as he quickly bolted out of the house. He ran towards the end of the road and around the corner where a black Mercedes S650 Maybach was waiting for him.

He looked around before slipping into the backseat of the car. As they moved down the road and out of the neighborhood, he felt the guilt of lying to Will. He didn’t want to contact his chauffeur, Jules-Albert, and have him pick him up for this exact reason. Instead, he asked Hazel to pick him up, but she decided to be a little shit and forwarded his location to Jules-Albert.

Nico hadn’t meant to lie, but he had learned the hard way in middle school to keep his mouth shut about his family. It wasn’t his fault that his father was a successful businessman and owned a record label, among several other things. High school was a fresh start for him, a school in a new district, and he would act as normal as possible. He dressed like normal teenagers, and he would walk a few blocks from school before getting into whatever car was waiting for him.

He knew it wouldn’t settle down if students had learned that he came from a wealthy family and has his own chauffeur. So he simply let the school believe that he walked home or was given a ride by his less wealthy, and more average, cousins

As they pulled into the driveway, Nico’s phone glowed in the dark with a text.

> **Had fun today, when should we meet up again.**

Nico smiled and typed in a quick reply before heading into his home. He was greeted by Hazel, who was waiting for him at the door. He went to the living room and quickly talked with his father and stepmother about him missing family dinner before heading to his room and calling it a night.

For the next three weeks, Nico and Will had spent every moment they can to work on the project. They would work in the library during their breaks and lunches, typing away, or editing their presentation. Nico was vaguely aware that people were gossiping, starting baseless rumors about him. As usual, he ignored them.

They were sitting in the cafeteria, three days away from the due date. They had finished the final version of the essay two days ago and were putting the final touches on their presentation.

They were intensely focused on the screen that they were startled when a hand slammed down on the table. Will jumped in his seat, and Nico looked up in irritation. Standing on the opposite side of the table was Leo Valdez.

The Latino plopped down on the seat in front of them and started rambling and complaining about a mechanical device that he was inventing, but the school intervened and shut the project down. To Nico, who was used to Leo, it all sounded the same, just some nonsense. Will, on the other hand, was not well acquainted with Leo, listened to him intently.

“I think I’m gonna call it the Valdezinator supreme model X23,” Leo grinned, the blueprints for the device spread around the table.

Nico blinked several times, looking at Leo as if he grew a second head. “Are you stupid or stupid?” he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.

Leo dropped his smile and made an expression that mimicked Nico. “Don’t mind me I’m positive that the–” he spoke in a bored and mocking tone. He grabbed the laptop from Nico and looked at the slide they were editing, “–Potez 630 aircraft is much more interesting than anything, nerds.”

“You didn’t answer me,” Nico smirked teasingly, “which stupid are you?”

“The stupid that does advanced mechanics,” Leo joked back, poking his tongue out. “And blows the lab up by building a doomsday survival machine.”

Will suddenly burst out laughing loudly, making everyone in the cafeteria to look at them. Both Nico and Leo shared a look before laughing themselves. “Don’t mind us,” Leo stood up and yelled out with a wide grin, “just discussing machines.”

Nico rolled his eyes and grabbed Leo by the sleeve, ordering him to sit down. Will was trying to contain his laughs but was having a hard time, his eyes brimming with tears of happiness. “Yeah, yeah, it gets tiring being the center of the attention,” Leo quipped as he sat back down.

“You two are so funny, I don’t get why people avoid you,” Will confessed as he wiped a stray tear away from his eye.

“Well, have you seen Nico,” Leo pointed out with a dramatic flair. “I am Nico di Angelo, Mr. Gloom, and Doom. I like My Chemical Romance and Green Day,” he mocked.

“Oh, no…Carry on. Don’t mind me,” Nico replied sarcastically, glaring at Leo.

“Between Nico’s death vibes and my hotness, people get awed by our presence that they stay away and worship us from a distance,” Leo proclaimed.

“Nah, that's not it,” Nico chuckled light-heartedly. “People find us very difficult to handle in general.

“Spoilsport,” Leo pouted.

“I can handle you two fine,” Will claimed. “Leo is like another Cecil, and Nico is like a less enthusiastic but more melodramatic Lou Ellen.”

“Speaking of those two,” Leo asked, scanning the cafeteria for the two troublemakers. “Where are they?”

“Detention,” Will shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. “they kind of set a chain reaction during physics. So now they have to spend the rest of lunch cleaning up their mess.”

“Aww, someone misses his friends,” Nico cooed in a childish tone. He split his attention between the two teens and his laptop, saving their presentation.

“Leo is also a friend,” Will stated and wrapped an arm around Nico’s shoulder, giving him a side hug. “And you are my new best friend.”

Nico blushed and shoved Will’s arm off. He stammered and turned all of his attention to his laptop, willing his blush away. Next to him, Will and Leo chatted together, mostly talking about the mess Cecil and Lou had made.

The words ‘best friend’ kept replaying in his mind. He never would’ve expected that he would become besties with someone with a sunny disposition. He found himself not minding the words and quite happy that he made a close friend out of his family’s circle of friends.

The bell rang, and everyone carried on with their day, with Nico having a spring for the rest of the day. Humming a song under his breath and a wide smile, which scared the shit out of people.

When they presented their project a few days later, Mr. Quintus tried to find something to criticize but to no avail. Their presentation was by far the best out of the whole class. They discussed their topics in-depth that Mr. Quintus had no choice but to give them an A+, a first in his class.

Nico was finally happy and felt vindicated with his grade. But that didn’t affect him as much as he thought. He went into this project hoping to get a decent grade, but he left with someone he could call a best friend.


	8. “Anything, just call me, okay?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will is a single father and he is in desperate need of a babysitter.
> 
>  **Prompt:** “anything, just call me, okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that it had taken me so long to update this story for someone who had written all the chapters beforehand. But I started working now that things are opening back up, and I just come back home exhausted and not in the mood to proofread my chapters.
> 
>  **Warnings:** Mentions of abortion and gun violence.

Will made his away out of his apartment building and directly towards the building right across the road. His two-year-old daughter balanced on his waist by one hand while the other held his phone and his daughter’s bag.

His daughter looked exactly like him. She had his curly blonde hair and blue eyes. Freckles decorated her cheeks, and she had the widest smile ever. He was very young to have a child and raise her a single parent while going through pre-med school.

He was 16 years old when she was born. He never blamed her for his situation, just himself and his ex-girlfriend. His daughter was conceived a month after he turned sixteen. It was a complete accident; they were at a part with alcohol and drugs.

With Will being drunk and Lauren – his ex-girlfriend – being high, the blame was equal. They had snuck into one of the rooms and had sex. Will doesn’t recall that night, but he has to assume that they didn’t use protection.

A month later, Lauren had shown up at his door in the middle of the night, screaming and yelling at him and shoving a pregnancy test in his hands. Looking at the stick, Will had made the decision to support his girlfriend no matter what.

Throughout the pregnancy, they tried to work through their relationship. Things weren’t going well, especially when he assumed that she would get an abortion. Instead, she chewed him out at just thinking or mentioning it. That’s when Will had learned that his girlfriend was pro-life.

Lauren was 7 months pregnant when they ended their 2-year relationship. Will may have been upset about it, but he got over it in favor of being involved in the child’s life. They were friends, but Lauren refused to talk about anything regarding the pregnancy or the baby, which annoyed Will.

It was during labor, while he held his girlfriend's hand, that he learned what Lauren had wanted. “Fuck,” she screamed between pushes, “good thing I’m giving you little shit up for adoption.”

Will froze where he stood. He hadn’t known that Lauren will give their child for adoption. She hadn’t even consulted with him. He felt numb as his mind raced, thinking about everything he will miss in his child’s life. He knew what it’s like having an absent father, and he resented it. He didn’t want his child growing up, knowing that their parents didn’t want them.

A scream tore him out of his stupor. The doctor and midwife rushed to pull the baby out and wrapping it in a blanket. “Congratulations, it’s a girl,” the doctor announced, “do you want to hold her?”

Will let go of Lauren’s hand and went towards the doctor, scoping his daughter in his arms. Tears trickled from his eyes as he beheld his daughter. There were small wisps of blonde hair in her head. Loud wails coming out of her lungs, her nose all scrunched up. Her face was red as she let one cry after the other.

“Maria,” he mumbled, a soft loving smile in his face. All it took was one look for him to decide that he will love his daughter till the end of time, even if he has to raise her all on his own. “Her name is Maria,” he stated in a louder voice, giving Lauren a defiant look.

“She is going for adoption,” Lauren replied, exhausted. “I promised this couple, and they have already chosen the name.”

“NO,” Will declared in an authoritative tone. “As her biological father, I am not giving up my daughter for adoption.”

“Will,” Lauren hissed, gripping the bed tightly that her knuckles turned white. 

“I have a legal right. I am signing the birth certificate, and I will raise her with or without you,” he seethed, gripping his daughter tightly.

Lauren’s mother, who was there the whole time, sighed and stepped between them. A nurse came and took Maria to clean her up. “If Will wants to raise _that_ child on his own, it will be his sole responsibility,” she told her daughter, giving Will a look of disgust. “We won’t have to deal with all that legal stuff for adoption, and Will won’t trouble us no more.”

“If you come in my way, I won’t hesitate to take this to court,” Will claimed as he glared at Lauren.

“As if you can win against me in court,” Lauren scoffed, “you can barely support a child, and you want to take me to court.”

Will took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Sure he comes from an average family, but he is not poor by any means. His mother is a small-time country artist who spent most of her time singing in pubs and bars, leaving him to be raised by his grandparent most of the time.

Will’s father was a successful musician, and Will kept his identity a secret. It helped that the man was absent most of the time, only bothering by sending an email every now or then. But one thing that Apollo had done right was setting up a college fund for Will the moment he was born.

So sure, Will isn’t from a wealthy family that could luxuriously afford the best lawyers, but he could afford basic necessities. Besides, he has been having some summer jobs since he was 12, and he has saved up five thousand dollars from these jobs. It wouldn’t have happened if his mother didn’t have the bright idea of setting up a savings account for him so that he can put his own money there.

“I’ll manage,” he replied curtly before turning around and leaving the room to sign the birth certificate and the custody papers. The process took some time, but Will soon found himself staring at his daughter through the newborn nursery window.

A gay couple walked up and stood next to Will. They were holding hands and looking through the window with longing expressions. The silence was awkward, so Will turned to the two men. “Which one is yours?” he asked.

The taller of the two men chuckled and shook his head. “See that baby there,” he began and pointed at Maria. “The mother promised us that we can adopt her child, and we were going to compensate her, but the father of the child refused.”

Will felt his jaw tighten as he clenched his fists, trying to comprehend what the two men said. “Well, the mother did not inform me of her decision,” he spat, “if she sent you here to sway my mind, the answer is still no. I am not giving up my daughter, EVER.”

“Let’s talk about this rationally,” the shorter of the two men said.

“No. I will not talk about this rationally,” Will seethed in anger. “You just said that you were going to give Lauren a compensation for adopting Maria, which sort of translated to buying my daughter. I told Lauren this before, and I will say it again. I won’t hesitate to take you to court.”

With a glare, he sent the two men scurrying off. And they had the gal to look ashamed. Once Will had been given all legal rights and full custody, he left the hospital to buy a car seat along with other baby essentials such as formula and clothes, which were expensive. His grandparents bought out his crib from the attic and helped him set up a temporary nursery in his room.

Soon Maria was living with him. His grandparents watched her while he was at school. He took a side job to help pay the bills, as Maria went through his savings very quickly. Whenever Naomi was home, she would coo and watch over her grandchild with happiness. She always made a point to remind Will of his responsibilities.

* * *

Two years later, Will had moved out of his house in Austin, Texas, and moved to New York to go to pre-med school. He had to rent an apartment as dorms did not allow children, and to pay for that apartment, Will added a part-time job to his life. He promised himself not to use his college funds for anything other than school, even if it would make things easier for him.

While Will worked at a juice shop near campus, he enrolled his daughter at a daycare that was 10 minutes away from his workplace. The downside to the daycare was that they closed at 4pm, and so Will had to hire babysitters whenever he had classes or work after that time.

His luck with babysitters was terrible. They didn’t stay for long, thanks to his unpredictable and inconsistent schedule. The longest sitter he had, was a high school student who watched his daughter for 5 weeks before quitting.

Now during finals week, he was desperate for a sitter. He hoped that he would be able to manage with daycare, but he had an exam at 5pm in two days and no sitter to watch his daughter. He was complaining about it to one of his coworkers when they mentioned knowing a guy that lives around that babysits children during exam periods and gave Will the guy’s email.

That night, Will searched about the guy, only to find him not listed on any babysitting websites and apps. Due to his desperation, he began composing an email to this mysterious baby sitter.

> **To:** the.ghost_king12@gmail.com
> 
> **From:** solace.william@hotmail.com
> 
> **Subject:** Babysitting job
> 
> Hello,
> 
> Is this Nico? If so, how are you? I have received your email from a colleague of mine who referred me to you. I was told that you offer babysitting services. I know this is very last minute, but my current sitter quit on me, and I have an exam this Friday, so I was wondering if you can watch my daughter (2 years old) from 4:30pm till around 7pm. I’m desperate and willing to pay any price.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> Will Solace.

He received his reply within 10 minutes of sending the email. Will re-read the email several times before whooping in happiness. He really would kiss this Nico’s feet for saving his ass. Will lifted Maria and peppered her face with kisses, much to his daughter’s annoyance as she swatted his face away.

> **To:** solace.william@hotmail.com
> 
> **From:** the.ghost_king12@gmail.com
> 
> **Subject:** Re: Babysitting job
> 
> **Attachment:** [Location]
> 
> Hello Will,
> 
> Yes, this is Nico. I understand your situation very well. Your daughter is more than welcome. I don’t know if whoever told you about me, but I hope they mentioned that I watch the kids over at my place if that is okay with you. I have attached my location above. Don’t worry about the rate. I usually charge $25 per hour, but I’ll give a discount so I’ll charge you $18. Sounds good?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Nico di Angelo

Will smiled as he typed in his reply. He was reluctant to drop Maria off at some stranger's house, but upon looking at the location, he recognized his street. Zooming in, Will was surprised to find out that the guy lives in the building directly in front of his.

That was how Will found himself on Friday at 4:30pm standing in front of a building across his. Unlike his own apartment building, this one was newer, luxurious and had better security. Will recalled checking this building out when he was apartment hunting, only to find the rent being on the expensive end.

He punched out the security code and made his way up the elevator to the 6th floor. The whole building smelled nice, unlike his building, which reeked with food. Once he reached apartment 613, he rang the doorbell in front of the apartment number plate.

When he didn’t hear any sounds from the other side of the door, he wondered if he got the wrong apartment. Double-checking the address, he confirmed that he is in the correct location. Maria tried to wiggle out of his arms and press on the doorbell. Like every child in a new environment, she was curious to explore.

A few seconds later, the door unlocked and opened. There stood a young man, about Will’s age or younger. He had shaggy and tousled dark hair and dark brown eyes that looked almost black. He was dressed in black sweatpants and a nirvana hoodie. Under his eyes were the biggest eye-bags Will ever saw, that seemed to be more prominent thanks to his pale complexion.

All in all, Will concluded that his sitter, Nico di Angelo, was about to collapse at any given moment. But that did not stop him from looking very attractive at the same time. Will had known that he was bisexual for a few years now, but that did not help him in his dating life whatsoever. Will contemplated between letting Nico babysit his daughter or actually look after him himself.

“You must be Will Solace,” Nico stated with a tired smile and extended his hand out, “I’m Nico.”

Will took Nico’s hand and shook it, “Hey, nice to meet you.”

“Come in,” Nico invited, moving to the side and letting Will pass through the door. Inside, Will noticed that the apartment was decorated in a mix of modern and minimalist fashion with what appears to be expensive furniture. The color scheme was very light, mixing whites with creams and light grey accents. He could see three additional rooms and a medium-sized kitchen with a dining room, and he was standing in a good-sized living room. That meant this was at least a two-bedroom apartment.

Taking a quick glance, he also realized that the apartment was actually baby proofed. There were child locks on all the drawers and cupboards. Even some doors had safety gates in front of them. He heard a scream from the opened door at the start of the hallway.

“NICO CAKE,” a little girl not older than four had yelled as she ran into the living room. She was dressed in a tutu and fairy wings, holding what appears to be a toy sword. Following her were two boys, twins, dressed in a pirate and power ranger costume, respectively.

Will looked at the kids and then back to Nico, raising an eyebrow. Nico sighed and turned towards the girl, “Alex, what did I say about indoor voices,” he asked the girl in a very parental tone.

The girl pouted before looked at the ground as if she was told off, and Will had to admit, Nico made it look like a normal talk instead of a scolding. “No yelling inside,” she replied, “I’m sorry. Can I have cake now? I’m hungry.”

“You know very well that we can’t eat dessert and candy in front of the twins,” Nico reprimanded. “Maybe once their mama and papa pick them up, I can give you some.”

The girl seemed pleased by the answer and called out to the two boys who followed her back into the open room. Nico turned to look at Will apologetically, “I’m sorry about that,” he apologized. “One of the twins is diabetic, so I try to keep all candy away from their sight.”

“It’s okay,” Will smiled. He felt a bit at ease as he watched Nico handle the situation and knowing that he is not a creeper.

“You’re not the only one who is desperate for a sitter,” Nico joked. “Alex’s parents are my friends, and the twins are their friend’s kids. They all have exams and assignments due this week, and so here we are.”

Will hummed before realized that he hadn’t introduced his daughter. “Umm… this is my daughter Maria.”

Nico looked at the girl with wide blown out eyes as if he was taken by surprise. Will furrowed his brows as he studied Nico’s expression, which was a mix of shock and anguish. Nico regained his emotions and gave Will a weak smile. “My late mother was named Maria,” he stated, “took me by surprise.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Nico shook his head, “she passed away long ago.”

Will felt bad, not meaning to bring up some painful memories for Nico. “Is there anything specific that Maria should or shouldn’t do. Does she have allergies, any specific nap times, food?” Nico asked. He pointed at the bag on Will’s shoulder, “I can take that for you.”

“Oh right,” Will stumbled and mentally berated himself for not being able to think straight in Nico's presence. He had been attracted to some guys before, but he found himself being tongue-tied. He handed Nico the bag and shifted his daughter to now, holding her using both of his arms. “I packed some extra diapers, a set of extra clothes and pajamas, some formula and a few pacifiers. I shouldn’t take long, but I always prepare for emergencies.”

Nico took the bag and quickly went to one of the closed rooms, which Will glimpsed as a guest bedroom. Once Nico returned, he looked at Will a bit nervously, “If you don’t mind me asking, what major are you?”

“Pre-med,” Will replied automatically, used to being asked that question. “What about you? I want to say you go to high school, but since you seem like you are living alone near a university campus, I would have to be inclined to assume that you are a college student.”

Nico chuckled at that. “Everyone always assumes that I go to high school,” he replied with a shrug. “I actually graduated high school a year earlier. I’m in my second year of college, you know, being the only 18 year old in my year.”

“Wow!! you must be crazy smart.”

“Not really,” Nico shrugged, “I’m a hard worker, that’s all.”

Will didn’t believe him for a moment. Nico, who is the same age as him but was further ahead in education, he must be smart. But then he realized something; if Nico was in college, that must mean he is going through finals week as well. “Don’t you like... have exams or stuff, like I hope that I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Oh no… I finished everything on Tuesday,” Nico replied. “A day after I finish my stuff, I start retaking my babysitting jobs. I charge extra during these times, but since you are a first time customer, I charged you the regular price, and I also gave you a discount. I want to make a good impression.”

“Thank you,” Will replied. He turned to look at his phone and saw that he spend almost 10 minutes chatting with Nico. “Well, I should get going,” he announced and balanced his slightly shy daughter. “Daddy will be gone for a while, but I will come back soon, I promise. Can you behave yourself for Nico.”

Maria looked at Will, her hand in her mouth. She nodded slowly in understanding, and Will kissed her in the forehead before handing her over to Nico. “Here we go,” Nico mumbled as he took Maria and set her in his arms. “Say bye-bye to daddy,” he spoke in a child-like tone to Maria as he waved at Will, as they walked towards the door.

“Oh, and I wrote my phone number in the bag,” Will announced as they stood by the door. “If you need anything, just call me, okay?” he stated and moved to give his daughter, who was in Nico’s arms, a kiss on her cheek.

Nico blushed slightly at their proximity and nodded at Will. He closed the door and turned around, setting Maria on the floor. “Hello, Maria.” he greeted, “I’m Nico, do you want to play with the other kids? They are in the other room over there, let’s go say hi.”

Nico then led Maria to the small room that he had converted as a toy room for whenever he was babysitting. There, Alex and the twins were playing around. Maria shied away, hiding behind Nico’s leg, trembling.

“It’s okay,” he said softly as he rubbed soothing circles on her back. “Hey Alex, Jermey, Stephan, this is Maria, say hi to her.”

A chorus of ‘Hi’s’ sounded around the room. Seeing Maria’s lack of enthusiasm, Nico led her towards a corner where there was a row of plush toys. “Here,” he said as he sat down on the mat and handed her a toy teddy bear.

It took about 15 minutes of coaxing for Maria to get her out of her shell and play around with the other kids. “Toot toot,” she yelled as she sat over a ride-on baby train and propelled herself using her tiny legs forward.

Nico smiled as he sat by watching the children play around. Minutes passed with Nico helping the kids play make-believe or taking someone to the bathroom. At 5:30pm, the twins' parents came around and picked them up, leaving Nico alone with Alex and Maria.

“Can we have cake now?” Alex had asked once the twins left the apartment. Sighing, Nico went to the kitchen and cut two small slices of cake, one for Alex and one for Maria. He bought out some toys and set them in the living room, so he can keep an eye on them while he was in the adjacent kitchen.

He handed Alex her slice and sat down next to Maria, holding the plate in his hand. “I want, I want,” Maria repeated as she pointed at the plastic spoon in his hands. Nico chuckled as he held the plate in front of Maria and give her the spoon.

Carefully, the toddler cut a small slice of the cake using her spoon. She scooped the piece and bought it to her mouth, the whole time her other hand was placed under the spoon to catch any crumbs. Once she safely shoved the cake in her mouth, she pressed her free hand over her mouth and smiled shyly, proud of her own achievements.

“That’s amazing, Maria,” Nico cheered, as Maria scooped another slice of cake and repeat the whole thing. From the corner of his eye, he could see Alex eating messily, cake crumbs all over her face.

After they ate cake, Nico bought out a set of coloring books and went to clean in the kitchen. He turned to look at the time and noted that Alex’s parents will come by in 20 minutes to pick her up, and then all he has to do is watch Maria.

He decided to make some cookies for himself and some for Will. He stood up and asked the two kids to behave while he went around in the kitchen to get out the ingredients. He set out the butter, eggs, sugar, and flour in separate bowls after measuring them out when Alex suddenly cried out loud.

Nico ran to the living room and saw that the older girl wanted the coloring pencil in Maria’s hands. Maria had instead looked between both Nico and Alex, before pouting and handing Alex the pencil. The two-year-old then grabbed another pencil enthusiastically and returned to scribbling over her paper.

Nico observed the two for a couple of minutes before returning to measuring his ingredients out and setting the mixing bowls. After doing every single task, he would walk back to the living room to check on the two kids. He was, after all, babysitting them.

As the bell rang, Alex perked up and looked at the door expectantly. Nico chuckled and ruffled her hair as he made his way to the door. When he opened it, Alex’s parents stood there in the doorway.

“Alex,” Nico called out. A very energetic four-year-old ran towards the door and jumped at her parent’s babbling about her day. Nico invited the couple in, but they declined, opting to quickly gather Alex’s things before leaving.

Nico closed the door and turned to look at his youngest guest. Maria had run into the spare room that he turned into a toy room when Alex’s parents came in. “Go?” she asked, using her limited vocabulary while pointing at the door.

Nico crouched down and ran his hand through her curly blonde hair with a soft smile on his face. Maria really did look a lot like her father. Even though Nico had spent a total of 10 minutes talking to the guy, his looks were ingrained in his mind. “They left,” he replied. The young girl nodded and make her way into the living room.

As they reached the living room, Maria stopped in her tracks. Her face scrunched up as she held the hem of her shit, her legs shuffling in nervousness. “Pee pee,” she mumbled and pointed to the door of the bathroom.

“You want to go to the toilet?” Nico asked and watched the girl nod. When Will said that he packed extra diapers, Nico had assumed that Maria wasn’t potty trained. ‘ _Unless she is currently training_ ,’ he thought to himself. 

“Okay,” Nico replied and scooped her in his arm and made a beeline to the bathroom. He helped Maria in the toilet and was happy that they got it in time and did not waste the diaper or get any clothes dirty.

“Do you watch me make cookies?” Nico asked while washing Maria’s hand.

Nico understood that having children in the kitchen wasn’t safe, but he didn’t exactly have a high child seat. He would settle by having Maria sit by the dining table and only help him scooping the batter. Alex’s parents were fine when he cooked with her in the kitchen, and Alex was 3 at the time when he first started.

The girl nodded and paddled to the kitchen in her tiny feet. While trying to scale one of the chairs, her eyes locked at a small bowl with assorted fruits over by the counter. “Apool,” she said while making grabby hands towards the small bowl. “Pwease,” She added after a few seconds while looking at Nico with a pout.

Nico always prided himself by being unfazed by children, but Maria had managed to crush him with cuteness overload. Nico grabbed the apple to wash it, and then he skillfully sliced it into tiny pieces. Maria had padded back towards the dining table and climbed up the seat. Her head barely reaching the top of the table. Nico placed the apple plate on the table and grabbed a pillow and put it under Maria to help boost her up.

The girl smiled as she took a bite of one slice. “Tank you,” she said in between bites, a happy smile on her face. Nico gave her hair another ruffle and went on to mix the ingredients together. He separated the dough into three separate batches and started to pre-heat the oven. He went back to his batches and added chocolate chip into one of them, another he left plain, and the last one he made it into marshmallow stuffed cookies.

Once done, he took out a very large tray and several cookie cutters. Lining up the tray with parchment paper on the tray, he placed it on the table where Maria was sitting. He bought out the three dough bowls there and lifted Maria into his arms so she can have a better view. “Which one should we do first?” he asked.

“This one,” Maria pointed her fingers towards the plain ones. While balancing Maria in his arms, he set the other two bowls aside.

“Which shape do you want?” he asked, setting out all the cookie cutters he has. She looked at them in deep thought before pointing at the star-shaped cutter, “this one.”

“Anything else?”

“mmm….,” she hummed, crossing her hands. And Nico wanted to snap a picture of Maria all pouty as she thought about what to choose. “This, this,” she said, grabbing a heart-shaped cutter and a triangle cutter.

“Okay,” Nico moved the other cutters out of the way. He set Maria to sit on the table next to where he was working so she can look. “Don’t move, or you will hurt yourself,” he warned.

“No move,” she shook her head as an indication that she understood him. As he proceeded to set all of the cookies into round balls and placed them on the tray, he noticed that Maria actually stayed seated and watched him the whole time with interest. Not once had she tried to stick her hand into the dough.

He bought one of the three cutters and pressed his hand slightly on the dough to flatten it. He set a chair in front of him and had Maria stand on it. Guiding her hand with the cutter, they went on to shape the cookies. “Pretty,” Maria stated with wide eyes as they finished with the batch.

“We’ll put them in the oven and work on the other two,” Nico explained to the two-year-old.

Maria slowly and carefully went down the chair and onto the floor. She followed Nico as he turned towards the oven, but kept a safe distance. “Hot,” she commented, pointing at the door.

“Yes, it’s very hot, we stay away from there, or we get owie,” Nico replied with a smile.

Maria padded back towards the chair and waited for Nico to return. He looked at her in wonder before he grabbed the two bowls and asked her which one she wanted to work on. “Chocolate,” she pointed at the chocolate chip dough. Nico set the marshmallow dough aside and started repeating the process in another tray. And when it came to shaping the cookies, Maria had pouted and crossed her arms. “Not nice, new,” she said, pointing at the cutters.

Nico bought out his other cutters, and Maria chose three new cutters: a dolphin, a flower, and a tree.

When Nico bought his other cutters, she smiled as she chose three new cutters. A dolphin, a flower, and a tree. When they were about to start pressing the dough, the timer had rung, and Maria took a seat on the chair and turned to look at the oven. Nico took that as his queue and grabbed a potholder before taking the tray out.

“Nico hot! Gloves!” she warned, pointing at the tray.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he reassured and set the tray on a cooling rack. It was at that moment that Nico had realized that Maria was actually very smart for her age compared to the other children he babysat.

He had watched over children younger than her and some kids who were even 8 years old. But one thing for sure was that they lacked the brightness and thought process of Maria. Not only was she well behaved, but she was also bright and understood things like sharing and dangerous things.

Maria was a shy child at first, but with all the kids gone, she left her shell and started opening up to Nico. The whole time as they baked, she babbled some outlandish stories. Many of which featured her daddy, her nana, grandma, and grandpa. Never mentioning her mother. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Will is a single father.

As they waited for the final batch to cook in the over, Maria recited a story about how Will had hit his head with a door while he was cleaning around their apartment. Nico laughed at the bizarre and dramatic retelling. She seemed to have a thing for theatrics and exaggeration. Using phrases like, “daddy make boom head” and then fake crying. And when Nico had asked on what, she pointed at the door and said, “bad door,” in a reprimanding tone.

Nico grabbed a Tupperware and bought the two cooled out trays and a cookie lifter when the last batch was done. “Which ones do you want?” he asked. Maria pointed to the ones she wanted, and Nico placed them neatly in the Tupperware. He grabbed a piece of post-it, wrote a simple note, and then set it on the Tupperware lid. He added some of the last batch before securing the Tupperware and placed it in a nice bag for transport.

Nico placed the remaining cookies in separate jars. He checked the time to see that it was 7:15 pm and Will has not arrived yet, though he said he will be back by 7. He decided that if Will did not show up within the next 5 minutes, he would make some basil pesto pasta for dinner.

An hour has passed, and Will did not arrive. Nico had given Maria dinner, then a quick bath, and brushed her teeth before dressing her in her pajamas. She laid on the guest room's bed, a pacifier in her mouth as she began dozing off. Nico had wondered if he should make her some milk or if he was overstepping his boundaries.

When the doorbell rang, he carried a sleepy Maria in his arms. There, a very exhausted Will stood in front of his door. “I’m so sorry,” he apologized. “There was an incident on campus, and we started the exam late, but then we got locked into the building. I’m being a very terrible customer right now.”

“Daddy,” Maria mumbled, rubbing her eyes, feeling more awake at her father’s voice.

“Oh my darling,” Will cooed, and Nico handed Maria over. He rocked Maria in his arms and pressed a kiss to her temple.

“You missed dinner,” Nico commented. “I have some leftovers from our dinner. You can come and eat. I don’t want you driving while you are tired.”

“Oh, I didn’t drive here,” Will replied with a weak smile. “Technically, I drove till my apartment and parked my car there. I live in the building across the street.”

Nico resisted the urge to laugh loudly. Instead, he settled for a small ‘pfft’ out of respect for Maria. She was now half-asleep in Will’s arm, and Nico had to guess that today was a tiring day for her.

“Hey, have some dinner, and then I can walk you to your place,” Nico offered. He didn’t wait for Will to answer. He had already walked into the kitchen and bought out a plate and started to serve the pasta.

“It smells nice here,” Will commented as he took a whiff of the kitchen. He didn’t want to impose, but he was starving, and Nico had asked him to stay, and he didn’t find it in himself to deny him.

“Cookie dough,” Nico explained, a small smile on his face. “Maria and I made cookies. Well, I did most of the cooking. She just helped with cutting them.”

Will hummed and handed Maria over to Nico so that he can eat. He shoveled right into the food and moaned at the taste, “this is so good.”

“Glad you like it,” Nico replied, taking a seat next to Will. He was humming and bouncing his leg to rock Maria to sleep.

Will turned to look at his daughter in Nico’s arms. He could picture night’s spent like this, in Nico’s kitchen, with Nico feeding Maria and smiling at him. He closed his eyes and shook the mental image away, blaming it all on his exhausted and somewhat delirious mind.

Maria shifted in Nico’s arms and mumbled, “night daddy, night, Nico.”

“Sweet dreams, sweetheart,” Nico whispered to her and placed a kiss atop her head.

“Goodnight, my love,” Will said back to his daughter. He wanted to lean over and press a kiss to her cheeks, but she was resting on Nico’s shoulder. Will recalled kissing his daughter before he left and how that left him slightly flushed in embarrassment. He concluded that staying out of Nico’s personal zone was the best choice.

Will finished his food quickly and went to the bathroom. When he returned, he found Nico sitting in the living room, and Maria sleeping in the guest room, the door left ajar. Will walked to Nico and pulled out his wallet. “Here is your money,” he stated, handing Nico $120 in $20 bills. “Since I went overtime, I’ll pay the regular price for all the trouble I caused.”

“I charged you $18 per hour. I watched Maria for 4 hours, so that is going to be $72. I’m not taking any more than that,” Nico shook his head, returning the money back to Will. “Besides, if you paid full price, I would get $100, not $120.”

“Just take it, Nico,” Will insisted. “I feel bad for wasting your time.”

“It was not wasted time,” Nico argued back. “Look, as far as I can tell, you are a single father in pre-med school with a 2-year-old. You need all the help you can get, and you need the money more than I do.”

Will shook in his place as he shoved the money onto Nico, who only pushed it back. Sighing in defeat, Will gave Nico his $72. In return, Nico let out a long sigh and put the money in one of the living room drawers.

He sat back and looked at Will, assessing him. “You said there was an incident?” he asked carefully. “I could tell that it has shaken you up. Can I ask what happened?”

Will spaced out for a while before he looked at Nico with fear in his eyes. “There was a shooter on campus. He was in the same building as the exam hall,” Will chocked out, tears streaming down his face. “Maria could’ve lost me.”

“Fuck,” Nico swore under his breathe and moved to wrap his arms around Will to comfort him. It was very awkward for them. Nico himself wasn’t a touchy person, and Will was surprised by the action. They sat there for some time, with Will sobbing and Nico doing his best to comfort him.

It was around 10pm when Nico walked Will back to his apartment. He carried the cookies and Maria’s bag and held the doors open for Will, who carried Maria. They quickly crossed the road and made their way to the apartment in silence.

Will invited Nico in while he took Maria to her bed. At that time, Nico scanned the small two-bedroom apartment while setting both bags in the living room. He noted that it had a homey and lived in vibes. There were photos of Will, Maria, and other people on the fridge and the wall. The apartment was small and cramped compared to his, with a bunch of toys scattered all over. Nico saw that some of the tows were for child education.

“Thank you for tonight,” Will smiled tiredly as he came back to the living room.

Nico shook his head. “It’s really fine, Will,” Nico reassured with a smile. “I had fun watching Maria. And since I live right across, bring her over anytime. If I’m not watching any other kids, I can come over here if you want.”

“I’ll think about the offer,” Will replied. “You are a lifesaver, I don’t think any babysitters go to the lengths you do.”

“Spending time with kids is kinda therapeutic for me,” Nico chuckled. “You forget all of the troubles of the world while you play with them.”

Will laughed at that, but halfway a yawn escapes his mouth. “Well, goodnight,” Nico waved as he left out the door quickly, a blush adorning his cheeks.

Will didn’t have time to reply a ‘good night’ of his own before Nico had left. He yawned once again before securing the door shut. When he returned to the living room, he noticed the cookie bag.

On the lid of the Tupperware, there was a yellow post-it note stuck. Will rubbed his eyes as he read the words.

**I find you very attractive and so here is my number. Ask me on a date anytime you are free.**

**Nico**

**XXX-XXX-XXXX**

**P.S. The cookies are good for about four more days.**

Will threw his head back laughing, grabbing his phone and putting Nico’s numbers in. He did find Nico attractive as well, from the moment he walked into the apartment. But he put that thought away and focused on Maria back then. Now here was Nico giving him cookies, some of which were heart-shaped and indirectly asking him out.

He was too tired to focus, so he didn’t know if this was his mind playing tricks on him. He returned the note back on the Tupperware and called it a night. The last thought he had was of pale skin and dark eyes.

When Will woke up in the morning and cleared out Maria’s bag, a small envelope had fallen out of it with his name written it. Will opened the envelope to see $72 inside with a short note that said: **You need those more than I do. That's it. No arguing.**

The note had the same handwriting as the note from last night. Will took out the Tupperware and re-read the note. It had the same words, which meant he wasn’t hallucinating. Will blushed furiously and thought about asking Nico out. Attractiveness aside, Will had enjoyed the little time they spent together last night. He could picture them together, spending their time either doing nothing or going out on dates and kissing. He could see Nico becoming a second father to Maria.

He took out his phone and typed a hasty text. A wide smile on his face. Thankful that his daughter was still asleep before she could sidetrack him.

**I guess I have to take you out for lunch with those $72. I’m free the Thursday after the next, what do you say? – Will**

A few minutes later, his phone pinged with a reply.

**It’s a date then.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say regarding the abortion and adoptions thing, I don't want to come out one way and insult anyone. I don't judge people based on their stance on abortion as long as they don't use that as an arguing point and make people feel bad about their beliefs.
> 
> Also, after writing the part about how the couple wanted to adopt Will's child I felt like it came out a bit wrong for some reason. But it's important for me to portray my characters as people who have different facets to them, I don't want to write something where everyone is good, kind, and happy. Sometimes there are assholes in the world and they don't give two shits about people's feelings.
> 
> I'm not American but I see a lot of posts and stuff about gun violence on social media. At this point, I guess shooters have become the norm. In this story, there was a guy who came to campus with a riffle and I assume the whole campus would go on lockdown, exams canceled and such. But for the sake of this story, the shooter was detained before he fired and things were carried out as normal.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at [imamessofawriter](https://imamessofawriter.tumblr.com)


	9. bitch better have my money.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The camp has a betting pool on who will confess first. Will or Nico.
> 
>  **Prompt:** “bitch better have my money.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is Can I be him by James Arthur. This is set a while before TOA, following a headcanon of mine where they start dating sometime in November/December. I read the whole significant annoyance scene on tumblr, I don’t know what exactly happened. But that scene just screams that their relationship is new.
> 
>  **Warnings:** Slightly uncomfortable situation.

It was late November, and things had just gone back to normal at camp half-blood. Most nightmares about the war had subsided now, there was no screaming in the middle of the night. Campers were back to their daily activities, whether it be working in arts and crafts, sword fighting or scaling the rock mountain. And for the first time in so long, the infirmary was free of sick people.

As the weather became colder, the number of campers with colds and the flu has increased. One of the first people to get sick was one Nico di Angelo. He hadn’t shown up for breakfast or camp activities one morning, and by sunset, Will was worried. The blonde checked the Hades cabin, only to find Nico curled in a heap of blankets with a stuffed nose.

“Not one word,” Nico had growled back then. Will had tried not to laugh at what was obviously a very sick Nico. He approached the younger demigod and chanted a simple healing hymn before demanding that Nico stay in bed and rest until he gets better. It is then that Will learned that Nico had the immune system of someone born in the 1930s, which is no much of an immune system.

The flu had spread around the camp. Some campers had a simple sore throat and were back to normal in no time. Others had to be taken to the infirmary and given nectar and ambrosia, along with the proper medical inspection.

The infirmary became a hotspot for disease, and most campers avoided going there for their injuries. It was bad enough that the Apollo cabin had to open a medical tent next to the dining pavilion to heal physical injuries.

It had taken two weeks for the flu to get eradicated from camp, leaving a very exhausted Apollo cabin in its wake. Throughout these two weeks, Nico had spent a lot of time in the infirmary helping Will around at the expense of his own health. When Will had argued against it, citing Nico’s weak immune system, Nico had countered by saying that the exposure will strengthen his immune system.

That conversation happened in the middle of the infirmary, and several campers laughed at that. Some even congratulated Nico at leaving Will speechless and one-upping him. After all, it was not every day that Will Solace lost a medical argument to anyone.

Ever since then, word had spread around camp and a betting pool has started. The whole camp had agreed that both Will and Nico were flirting with each other with very obvious crushes. They all knew that Will was bisexual, so that could explain the attraction. But they didn’t know Nico’s sexuality, but based on the flirty banter, they could only guess that he is not straight.

Several bets were going around, but the most popular bet was who will be the one to confess first. About 65% of the bets were for Will making the first move, while the remains 35% were in Nico’s favour. The ones who voted in Nico’s favour include, the Stoll brothers, Drew Tanaka and surprisingly Lou Ellen. Cecil had teased her when she placed her bet, making fun of her lack of faith towards Will.

At campfire, the campers were huddled together, as the cold wind swept by. Will was thankful that the game that the Athena cabin had planned in the woods ended without any injuries. He sat next to Nico, their shoulders touching. They chatted and laughed at their own inside jokes while roasting s'mores. A small blush decorated Nico’s cheeks as he looked at Will shyly from the corner of his eyes.

The blonde did not notice the inner turmoil going in Nico’s head. He was rather busy trying to make Nico the perfect s'more. Nico had laughed when the marshmallow caught on fire, lightly patting Will on the thigh. He immediately pulled back once he registered the action and pretended to focus on the campfire.

“Nico,” Connor Stoll yelled with a grin. Nico groaned and hid his face in his arms. He had been dreading this for days, hoping that the Stoll brothers forgot about it. Among the many bets that were going around since the start of November, Nico had participated in his fair share and won a lot of them.

Several days ago, he had made a bet with Connor Stoll, and the loser was supposed to sing a song at campfire. Nico had been confident in winning the bet, but luck was not on his side, and he lost royally. Now that campfire was here, Nico really didn’t want to sing in front of the whole camp. Sure he sang funeral hymns, but this was a karaoke type of singing. Upon losing the bet, Connor Stoll blasted the news to the entire camp and had actually asked the Apollo cabin to prepare the karaoke machine. And now many campers were looking forward to him singing.

“Not yet,” Nico yelled back in an attempt at stalling, but Connor did not back down. The younger Stoll grinned as he skipped towards Nico, and sat next to him, throwing an arm around Nico’s shoulder. Nico felt his fate being sealed in that exact moment, and there was no way for him to delay the inevitable.

“Here you go, time to choose,” Conner said while handing Nico a booklet. Nico raised a brow as he held the booklet with disgust like it was rotten cheese. “Each page has the lyrics for the songs to choose from, there is a total of 40 songs, so better start looking at each song and decide what you want to sing.”

Nico nodded as he accepted his fate. Connor grinned wider and gave Nico a slap on the back before standing up and hurrying towards his brother. Begrudgingly, Nico opened the book and started to read the lyrics. The first song he came across was Toxic by Britney Spears. As he read the lyrics, a small blush warmed its way on his cheeks.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Will trying to take a peek into the book. He quickly turned the page over and started reading the lyrics of the next song. “S&M by Rhianna,” Will hummed, and Nico felt his breath against his neck. “Not appropriate for campfire so I won’t recommend that.”

“Can you help,” Nico pleaded. “I don’t want to sing about something sexual or inappropriate, something PG or PG13 would be nice.”

Will nodded in agreement. “It’s better to maintain the innocence of young campers. I really don’t want Harley learning about sex at his age. I already have trouble giving Austin and Kayla the talk, and I don’t want to give it to 8-year-olds.”

They had gone through 12 songs when a girl from the Aphrodite cabin approached Will nervously. “Hey Will can I talk to you?” she asked, and then glanced at Nico who was hunched over the booklet. “In private,” she added, eyeing Nico.

Will glanced at Nico quickly before turning to look at the girl. “I’ll be back in a sec,” he told Nico and stood up, going with the girl.

Nico nodded, engrossed, trying to read the lyrics. The lyrics of _this_ song were resonating with him. He thought about singing it but decided against it. The song would put him in a vulnerable state, and he is afraid of putting himself in such a situation. He raised his head to look for Will and ask for his input, but he was nowhere near.

A few steps away, in the shadows of the amphitheatre exit, there stood Will talking to the girl. She was blushing and standing way too close to Will. Her finger trailing across Will’s chest flirty, and Nico could see a red box hidden behind her. He saw Will raise one hand to hold the hand on his chest, and it dawned to Nico what was happening. 

He stood up and made his way towards Connor Stoll, the whole time his heart thundered in his ears. Every step he made, he had the urge to run away. But he resisted his temptation and told Connor his choice, vulnerability be damned.

Will and the girl, Emma, from the Aphrodite cabin had gone down the steps of the amphitheatre and stood towards one of the exits, concealed in the shadows. “So what do you want to talk about?” Will had asked. 

“Umm…” Emma blushed, her body shuffling as she hid both hands behind her back. She looked up at Will from under thick lashes covered in mascara. “Well…” she began and stopped shifting nervously as if she had mustered all of her courage at the moment.

“You are a very kind person,” she began and took one step forward. One of her hands moved from her back and came to rest on Will’s chest. “And even though you have a terrible sense of fashion, you always manage to look smoking hot. I guess it’s natural being a son of Apollo and all of that.”

She moved her hand so that she was now moving her fingers up and down Will’s chest in a flirty manner. She batted her eyelashes and flashed Will a smile, “What I’m saying is that I really like you.”

Will closed his eyes and quickly looked over her shoulder. He could see Nico engrossed in whatever lyrics he is reading, a small smile on his lips. He quickly returned his gaze towards Emma. He sighed as he went to remove her hand from his chest. Ever since he turned 14, a lot of people had come up to him and asked him out. He understood that he was somewhat attractive, but he could never return these people’s feelings.

When Emma had approached him, he thought she wanted to talk to him about a private medical matter. But then she started to flirt with him, which only confirmed to him that this was a confession. “I’m sorry, Emma,” he answered apologetically. He always felt terrible for rejecting people. 

“I can’t return those feelings to you as I like someone else,” Will added and let go of her. He walked past her, back to his spot next to Nico. When he reached, he found the other demigod missing. Scanning the amphitheatre, he saw Nico handing Connor the booklet as they prepared the karaoke machine.

Will jogged over to Nico and wished him luck. The son of Hades may have not visibly looked upset, but Will had gotten good at reading Nico’s emotions and could tell that he was upset. Will wondered what had happened in the few minutes that he was gone for Nico to have a mood change. “Why don’t I try to bail you out?” he asked, trying to help his friend.

“It’s okay,” Nico hissed. “I want to do this.”

Will was slightly shocked at the sudden hostility, but he blamed it on the nerves getting to him. But something in his gut told him that it wasn’t nerves. As a healer, he had gotten good at reading emotions, and right now, he was confused. “Okay, I’ll be sitting there,” he announced, pointing towards where they were previously sitting in the third row.

A few minutes later, Connor Stoll went up in front of everyone. “As you know Nico di Angelo lost a bet to me very badly,” he began. “And now he has to sing one song from the karaoke machine. I gave him the liberty to chose the song because I know he will kick my ass into next year at the next capture the flag.”

Connor was met by cheers and laughs. “SHUT IT STOLL,” someone, probably Sherman Yang, yelled.

“Okay without any further ado,” Connor bowed and pointed at Nico, “I give you Nico di Angelo.”

Nico walked up in front of everyone and took the microphone from Connor’s hands. “Before I start, can I say something,” he began. After seeing a couple of campers nod, he carried on. “I just want to say I’m sorry for my terrible singing and I literally just heard the song for the first time, like a few minutes ago.” Several campers laughed at that, thinking that Nico is joking. 

“So if you want to blame anyone, blame Connor. And if your ears do bleed, Apollo cabin, be ready.” A bunch of whistles and cheers erupted from the crowd, and Nico smiled at the support. Don’t get him wrong, he loved the Stoll’s like they were his brothers, but sometimes they got on his nerves. 

He turned towards Austin, who was operating the karaoke machine. He gave a nod and stood in front of the small screen. Music started blaring from the speakers as the words appeared on the screen.

**_“You walked into the room and now my heart has been stolen_ **

**_You took me back in time to when I was unbroken_ **

**_Now you're all I want_ **

**_And I knew it from the very first moment_ **

**_'Cause a light came on when I heard that song and I want you to sing it again”_ **

Nico swallowed as he finished singing the first verse. He knew that it’s better to let things out instead of letting things fester. Better than to let his broken heart ruin him. When he first read the lyrics, he knew that they describe what he is feeling for Will perfectly. How he quickly developed a crush on the blonde. How his presence made Nico forget all of the pain he went through.

**_“I swear that every word you sing, you wrote them for me_ **

**_Like it was a private show, but I know you never saw me_ **

**_When the lights come on and I'm on my own_ **

**_Will you be there to sing it again?_ **

**_Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories_ **

**_Can I be him?”_ **

This time he turned and looked at Will, who was looking at him with wide eyes. Everything started to fade, and only Will was there. His mind focusing on singing the song in a way to tell Will that it’s for him. About him. That it’s Nico’s confessing to him.

**_“I heard there was someone but I know he don't deserve you_ **

**_If you were mine I'd never let anyone hurt you, no, no_ **

**_I wanna dry those tears, kiss those lips_ **

**_It's all that I've been thinking about_ **

**_'Cause a light came on when I heard that song and I want you to sing it again”_ **

_This_. Right here, right now. It all came down to his raw emotions. Nico can admit that he is terrible when dealing with feelings. That the moment he saw that daughter of Aphrodite approach Will, he was overcome with jealousy. And the two thoughts that he had in that instant is either to lash out or run. Then she was all over him, and Nico understood that he would never stand a chance. But then why is he here pouring his heart out.

**_“I swear that every word you sing, you wrote them for me_ **

**_Like it was a private show, but I know you never saw me_ **

**_When the lights come on and I'm on my own_ **

**_Will you be there to sing it again_ **

**_Could I be the one you talk about in all your stories?”_ **

Ah yes, Nico really liked Will. He liked the sound of Will’s voice. It always sounded like music to his ears, even if he was singing out of tone. Somehow, Will had become a shining ray of light in his life. He wanted to be the centre of Will’s universe, but that wasn’t possible. He knew that he was only a friend among many.

**_“Can I be the one_ **

**_Can I be the one_ **

**_Can I be the one_ **

**_Oh, can I, can I be him?_ **

**_Won't you sing it again?_ **

**_Oh, when you sing it again_ **

**_Can I be him?_ **

**_Oh, sing it again, yeah_ **

**_Oh, when you sing it again_ **

**_Can I be him?_ **

**_I swear that every word you sing, you wrote them for me_ **

**_Like it was a private show, but I know you never saw me_ **

**_When the lights come on and I'm on my own_ **

**_Will you be there, will you be there?_ **

**_Can I be the one you talk about in all your stories_ **

**_Can I be him_ **

**_Can I be him_ **

**_Can I be him_ **

**_Can I be him?”_ **

Nico finished, slightly out of breath. Tears prickled in the corners of his eyes, but he tried his best to will them away. Putting on a brave face, he looked at the audience. The whole amphitheatre was silent, everyone was looking at him with wide eyes and gaped mouths. Suddenly everyone burst into cheers and clapping. Several campers stood from their seats before others followed suit, giving Nico a standing ovation.

Everyone was standing, except for Will. He was sitting there, unmoving with tears streaming down his face. Nico gave the crowd a shaky smile and a quick bow before making a beeline to the exit. The air felt heavy in his lungs. The image of Will crying was seared in the back of his mind. He couldn’t believe that his singing had done that, had made the camp cheer and Will cry. He was already heartbroken, but now the added guilt of making his crush and close friend cry made things worse.

He was already passing through some of the cabins and past the central hearth when Will caught up to him. “NICO,” he yelled, running with his long legs. “Wait up.”

Nico tensed and stopped in his tracks. He closed his eyes and counted until 10 to regulate his breathing. He hoped that Will would not follow him, would avoid him. Putting on a mask of indifference, he turned around to face Will. “Yes, Will,” he spoke pragmatically. Desperately pretending that he is hiding nothing. That there is nothing wrong with him. That he didn’t just ruin the night.

Will stood there in front of Nico, awkwardness hung thick in the air around them. “Did I do something to make you mad or I don’t know, upset with me?” he asked, looking at the ground as if he was a beat-up puppy.

Nico shook his head and gave Will a weak smile. Trying to hide the battle going inside of him. His brain was telling him to hide, to leave things be, but his heart told him to speak out, tell Will everything. His body moved on its own. Making him take a step forward and cupping Will’s face in one hand, his thumb caressing freckled cheeks. As their skins touched, Nico decided to follow his heart. His first attempt at telling Will of his feelings did not work so he had no choice but to say them out loud, even if it would put their friendship at risk.

“You did nothing wrong, sunshine,” he spoke softly. “It’s my fault, really. I’ve liked you in a romantic way, and I just realized that I don’t stand a chance. I’m tired of crushing on straight guys and dealing with that heartbreak.” Nico gave Will a reassuring smile even though it was killing him inside. “But don’t worry about it, I’ll get over you, so there is no need to worry or be creeped out. I’ll avoid you for a while, but afterwards, we can still be friends if you want.”

Nico stood on his tiptoes and pressed a small kiss on Will’s cheek. As he pulled away, a lone tear rolled down his own cheeks. He didn’t know why he gave Will a kiss, but it just felt natural. He told himself that it was for closure, the final nail in the coffin. Will, on the other hand, just stood there frozen in shock at what had just happened.

Nico had taken about two steps before Will grabbed his wrist to stop him. He yanked at Nico’s wrist, making him turn back to face Will. “Me too,” he whispered and moved to wrap his arms around Nico in a tight hug. He leaned down and buried his face in the crook of Nico’s neck. “I like you too romantically, so please don’t give up on us.”

Nico froze in shock, the words slowly registering in his mind. Did he hear Will right? Did Will just say he returned his feelings? “Really?” Nico asked warily, not trusting his ears or anything else, “do you really like me, or are you just saying that to be nice.”

Will pulled away from the hug, still holding Nico’s hand while looking at him in adoration. He moved both of his hands to cup Nico’s face and leaned forward, slowly. He pressed a quick peck on Nico’s lips. His first kiss. Will blushed furiously and did his best to suppress his smile. “I hope this proves my feelings,” he stated, “I don’t know why you thought I was straight, but I’m bisexual. And I always assumed you were uninterested in romance so I said nothing.”

Nico blushed furiously as Will. His heart pounding and butterflies were dancing in his stomach. His hand came up to caress Will’s hand which was still cupping his face. The shy smile on his lips that threatened to become a full-blown out grin. “Idiots, the both of us,” Nico laughed and stood on his toes to press another peck on Will’s lips. This one lasted a bit longer and felt like a proper kiss.

Hollering, whistles and cheers had erupted around them, causing them to pulled apart in mortification. Their eyes wide as they realized that the whole camp had front row seats to the entire thing. Nico considered shadow travelling out of there to save himself from the embarrassment, but found himself frozen in place and unable to move. He instinctively gripped Will’s hand for support.

“Gods, finally,” someone laughed loudly.

“Grab them,” another person, who is definitely Sherman Yang, yelled. Before Nico could do anything, the two boys were grabbed by a bunch of campers and carried off to the lake. Nico realized what was happening a bit too late and both boys found themselves thrown into a cold lake in the chill late November night.

“Where is Cecil,” Lou Ellen cheered, blowing Nico and Will a kiss. She turned around and looked at a bunch of campers with a feral grin, “bitch better have my money.”

Both Will and Nico looked at each other before they burst into laughs. This was not the ending they expected to, but it was better than nothing. Several campers had gone in a hurry, yelling demands of money owed to them. “We should get out, the water is freezing,” Will suggested and started swimming.

Nico was the first one out, and he used that as a chance help Will out. A few steps out and a cold breeze swept by, making Nico shiver and try to huddle onto his wet jacket. “We’ll probably catch a cold tomorrow,” Will commented while pouring water out of his shoes.

Nico threw his head back, laughing. He looked at Will with a wide smile, his eyes crinkling, and Will had to admit that Nico looked rather ethereal under the moonlight. “Well… we could have beds next to each other in the infirmary or even nurse each other back to health,” he joked, earning a heartfelt laugh from Will.

Hand in hand, they walked back to the cabins. They stood by cabin 13, and Will wished Nico a goodnight before awkwardly moving to give him a kiss on the cheek. Nico had embarrassingly shuffled back into his cabin with a blush, while Will ran all the way to the Apollo cabin. He wore a lovesick grin and hummed much to his sibling's annoyance as he changed out of his wet clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on updating the final chapter sometime before the release of the tower of nero, but in the meantime I hope you enjoy this piece.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at [imamessofawriter](https://imamessofawriter.tumblr.com)


	10. “bro… that’s so… not cool…”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s the December after the war with Nero and camp is playing a special game of capture the flag.
> 
>  **Prompt:** “bro… that’s so… not cool…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo this is the final prompt of this story, for more check out the series page. I want to post this chapter to celebrate the release of ToN tomorrow. Now keep in mind that this was written way back in August and I have not read TOA. I will be reading the series as a whole within the next few weeks. 
> 
> Also I want to say thank you to all the readers who have subscribed to this story or were checking it out, left comments or kudos. I never imagined I would get 2000 hits in such an amount of time. So once again Thank you.
> 
> Also some of you may notice that the spelling is different in this chapter. It’s because I use grammarly to spell check, but for some reason it switched to british spelling even though I use American spelling most of the time. (I studied english in both curriculums, so I use a mix of both british and American English).

It’s been almost a year and a half since the war with Gaea and her giants. A year since Apollo had shown up at camp and mortal. Six months since the war with Nero took place in the summer. Luckily, this time around, camp half-blood was not heavily involved with the fight. The battle took place in New York, and only a few select volunteers have gone with Apollo.

After that fight, many things had happened. Apollo regained his godhood. Meg found a family, and things started to change in Olympus for the better. One of the things that happened was Nico telling Will ‘ _I love you_ ’ for the first time ever. They had been dating for six months, and Nico was still getting used to the relationship. All it took was a death scare for Nico to decide to tell Will right then and there, in the middle of the battlefield.

The confession served as a great distraction. They kissed each other as if it were the last time. Enemies had stopped fighting to stare at them, shock and confusion decorating their faces. That opening was all that Apollo had needed to kill Python and then team up with Meg to give Nero the finishing blow.

Both Nico and Will were defenceless as they kissed. A monstered had recognized its chance and decided to strike, only it never got to them. An invisible arrow whizzed past and lodged into the monster’s heart, killing it.

They pulled apart in shock and looked at the carcass. “I’ll always be on your side,” a voice said, and Nico shuddered as he recognized it as Eros’ voice. The love god went on to destroy all the other monsters and enemies before materializing into a proper form once the battle had ended. He approached Nico and Apollo, apologizing to the two for being rough in his methods and fumbling through his explanation of wanting the best for them in their romantic lives.

That reunion was a disaster, to say the least. Both Nico and Apollo had told Eros to fuck off and that they will never forgive him for causing them pain and suffering. No matter what the intentions were, it did not erase the trauma, it caused them. As a peace offering, Eros had decided to release Zephyros from his service, though neither Nico nor Apollo understood how it translated to such.

Six months have passed since then. Six months since Nico told Will that he loved him and vice versa. A year since they have been dating. Through that time, they had been through a lot. It is their second winter holiday season that they would celebrate together, among many other holidays. This time, their relationship was longer, stronger, and deeper.

Winter break had meant that several year-round campers have gone back home to celebrate the holidays with their families. Likewise, a few summer campers were visiting to celebrate the holidays with their siblings and friends. Others decided to pop for a few days before leaving to return to their families. Percy and Annabeth had decided to spend the few days before Christmas at camp before spending it together with their families. 

This year, a group of roman campers were invited to visit Olympus during the winter solstice and then celebrate new years at camp half-blood. There were about two dozen campers, all of which are assorted members of the legion, led by their newest praetor, Hazel. 

The whole camp was a huge bundle of festivities during this season. A week ago some campers were celebrating Hanukkah, and now some are celebrating Las Posadas. Camp half-blood was a clash of cultures during this time, each day a different holiday was celebrated. 

Christmas was one of the many holidays celebrated in December. Many campers did not celebrate it for religious reasons, rather they used it to give themselves a sense on normalcy in an abnormal world. The added arrival of the Romans had increased the festivities, for visiting the greeks was the one time they could relax and break apart from their rigid rules.

Nico had been looking forward to this visit. He had not seen Hazel in a long time, and now he can actually hang out with her and introduce her to Will. For a long time, he was afraid of coming out to her. Like him, she was born in a time where being anything other than a cis-heterosexual person was a crime. So when she had accepted him with open arms and showed interest in his relationship, Nico was beyond elated.

He wasted no time introducing his sister to his boyfriend via Iris Messages once communications were restored. She was happy to hear his voice and had taken an instant liking to Will, often agreeing with the blond in matters relating to Nico’s health. But now that they are in the same room together, they decided to gang up on Nico. But the son of Hades did not mind for one bit.

The festivities did not halt the campers from carrying on with their daily activities. There were still a bunch of morons hurting themselves by racing and pushing each other of the lava wall. A camper accidentally nailing his hand on a piece of wood. Others tried to sneak into the forest only to be ambushed by the monsters living in the forest. It was just the usual at camp half-blood. 

An Athena camper had decided that the next capture the flag game would be a mix and match game, instead of the usual team game. This time the teams will not be greek vs roman, or Ares & 1st cohort vs Athena and 3rd cohort. They had decided that the two leaders would be randomly selected and every man to themselves. 

Whoever wanted to be a team leader were to place their name in a large bowl to be randomly selected. The campers from the 5th cohort were very enthusiastic about it, and so they all put their names in the bowl. Likewise, every Ares, Athena and Nike camper had thrown in their names at a chance to be a team leader.

In the end, Hazel was drawn to be the blue team leader, while Kayla from the Apollo cabin was the red leader. Both options had come as a surprise as nobody had expected the two of them to put their names in. “Each of these team leaders can go around and ask people to join their teams. All tactics to persuade your fighters are fair. Team limit is 30 players per team,” the Athena camper explained. “You have until tonight to chose your teams and the game would be in two days time.”

Nico was torn between teaming up with Hazel or Kayla. For one, Hazel is his sister and he would always fight with her, but he also wants to fight against her at the same time. It was sort of a sibling rivalry. Unfortunately, the whole day Nico watched Hazel go around asking people to join her team, but she never asked him. Percy had approached her on his own and offered his help. Her team had a strong line-up and Nico knew that him joining her would make it even stronger.

But Kayla was not one to back down, she had managed to snag Sherman Yang and Ellis Wakefield from the Ares cabin. She had persuaded her two roman siblings to join her team along with various members of the Apollo cabin. Another roman that she persuaded was Michael Kahale, a child of Venus and centurion of the 1st cohort.

Nico and Will were sitting next to each other in the dining pavilion eating a late lunch when Hazel slid down onto the seat opposite of Nico. “Hey,” she greeted, extending her hand out to hold Nico’s hand. It was something new that they did to remind each other that they are alive. By now, both teams have pretty much secured their key players, all they needed was to fill in their ranks. It was a matter of who can give the better offer. 

“How is it going?” he asked, giving her hand a squeeze.

“Everything is good,” she replied with a smile. “I just need a few more players, and I’ll have a full team. Kayla drives a hard bargain, I have to one-up her after she snagged Micheal Kahale.”

“No one is good at persuading people like Kayla,” Will laughed from next to Nico. His arm was wrapped around Nico’s waist as he leaned into his boyfriend. His tone told Hazel that he spoke from experience. 

“As much as I like and respect you, Will. Kayla and the rest of your team are going down,” Hazel announced with an uncharacteristic grin. Nico never realized how competitive his sister could be, especially for someone as non-confrontational as her.

“We’ll see about that,” Will quipped back, and Nico could see a grin forming on the blonde’s face. He had also forgotten that Will is not really _that_ laid back, and he can rise to the occasion, especially when his competitive streak comes to light. 

“Really?” Hazel taunted. “Between me, Percy and Nico, your team will be facing three big three kids.”

Nico froze in his place as shock washed over him. The whole day he tried his best not to make any assumptions. But watching Hazel ask almost every camper to join her team and never approaching him, had made Nico a bit upset. He knew it was nothing to throw a fit about, but there was a voice in the back of his mind telling him that he did not belong, that’s why Hazel didn’t ask him.

Nico knew better than to listen to that lingering voice. He had been part of the camp for a year and a half now. He was accepted for who he is. But the fact that he watched his own sister approach strangers before her own brother did hurt him. Hell, he was the first one Kayla had approached. Nico had told her that he would need to see his options before giving an answer before dinner.

“You didn’t even ask me,” Nico commented. He tried his best to keep a neutral tone, but Hazel noticed her mistake.

“Oh,” Hazel looked a bit abashed. “I just assumed that you will join my team.”

Nico pouted and thought about it. He was happy that his sister did not count him out but rather assumed he would automatically join her time. A grin appeared on his face as he wrapped his arms around Will, giving him a side hug and resting his head on Will’s shoulder. “Sorry,” he teased, “Kayla approached me first _and_ gave me a very good offer.”

“Your own family,” Hazel gasped with an over-exaggerated and feigned surprise and shock. “Oh, the betrayal.”

“That’s what you get for assuming,” Nico laughed at the dramatics of it all. “And I’m just balancing the teams out, give you more of a challenge.”

The three stared at each other before bursting into laughter. Nico pressed a kiss on Will’s cheek while the blond tried his best not to turn into a blushing mess. Even though it has been six months since the whole ‘I love you’ debacle and Nico showing more affection, Will would always be taken by surprise such actions.

The next day was spent planning for the game, and Nico had to give Kayla praise for her strategy and tenacity. She was going all out and aiming for blood. It was like she was a daughter of Athena instead of Apollo. The whole plan revolved around several strategies and multiple backups in case a strategy had failed. And when Will tried to shoot down some of her ideas citing medical reasons, she shut him up with a heated glare.

The morning of the game, campers were trash-talking each other as the competitive spirit hung around them in the air. The Hermes cabin had begun setting up a betting pool. There were three ongoing bets: the winning team, the MVP, and how long the game will last.

Nico placed a bet on his own team. He trusted in Kayla’s strategy and in his own team. But he could not let his guard down with Hazel and the few Hecate kids that are on her team. Kayla may have Lou Ellen, but one daughter is outnumbered against four of her siblings.

The game was set after dinner, with each team donning their armour, setting their flag in place along with traps and getting into position. The archers climbed up and hid in the trees, and that included every Apollo kid except for Will. The head counsellor would be putting his legs and speed to use, running around the forest, creating as much distraction as possible.

Cecil was set to lead a bunch of people, setting off the enemy traps and engage in battle if possible. Micheal Kahale was going to stand on guard, his bulky physical appearance was enough to make people question taking him on. Sherman was to lead the frontal attack, while Ellis was taking care of the side attack, and an Athena camper will lead a back attack. Anyone who was not part of these squads were to be in defensive positions, lying in wait for the enemy.

The horn sounded, and both teams rushed in. Upon Kayla’s instructions, they waited for a couple of minutes, giving the enemy a false head start before they began running to the boundary line. Nico had wondered why she chose this tactic but then noticed the approval of their Athena cabin teammates and Micheal Kahale, and so he let the matter go. It didn’t take long for the sound of campers screaming at each other and clashing sword to vibrate through the whole forest.

Nico perched on top of a tree, hidden out of view. From his vantage point, he was unable to scout for a flag, but he kept an eye out for any movement. Upon deeming the coast clear, he closed his eyes and tried to see people’s life forces. It was the one thing Kayla had him practice yesterday and today. He could see everyone around the forest. Sherman fighting against a legacy of Mars, Hazel moving quietly through the side, right past the back attach squad.

He threw one of the small pebbles in his hands to the archer a few trees away to gain his attention. Nico signed with his hands using the gestures that Cecil had suggested as a way of communication. The archer nodded and proceeded to send the signal over, all the way to Kayla, who ordered an increase in the defensive measure towards their right flank.

10 minutes later, Nico saw a smoke cloud in the sky. He grinned at the signal and whistled loudly, with a couple more whistles echoing in the forest. Will came running into the open field with a few angry demigods from the blue team on his tail. He grinned and ran across the field, feinting left and right to avoid their attacks. He kept them distracted, and they fell into the trap as they followed him all the way across the boundary line, right into the blue team territory without realizing it.

A minute later, a loud piercing shrill sounded. It was Will’s deadly whistle. Using that moment of surprise, Nico looked at his tree neighbour and nodded. He jumped down from the tree and straight into the shadows, appearing right out of a tree next to the blue team’s flag.

Percy, who was standing guard, turned around and pointed his weapon at Nico in surprise. He was lucky that Kayla had anticipated that if Percy was not leading an attack, then he was most likely guarding the flag. And the whole tame had come up with a plan for this scenario as well, and it depended highly on his abilities.

Nico feigned surprise with a gasp and dropped his weapon to the ground. “P-Percy,” he said shakily, eyes wide in fear. He took a step forward and willed fake tears to fall down his face, his lips quivering and holding out a sob. He kept trying to replay painful memories that made him want to cry. The earth beneath his feet wilted and turned to ash grey. He did his best to drive himself near hysterics.

“Nico!” Percy called out in confusion. He was surprised to find Nico jumping out of the shadows, his neck and shirt marred with dark red. But he was even more confused and worried once he saw Nico throwing away his weapon and looking like he was about to lose it as he shock and tears were spilling from his eyes. ‘ _Did something happen?_ ’ he thought to himself, his nurturing instincts taking over as he lowered his weapon.

“A-Are you alright,” Percy asked in the most careful tone he could muster. Sirens and warning signs blared in the back of his head as he connected what appears to be blood and Nico in a hysterical fit. “Nico, what’s wrong?”

Nico moved his gaze to the ground and shook his head as he bit his lip. He gasped out loud and tried to hold himself from sobbing. Percy disregarded guarding the flag and quickly walked over and wrapped his arms around Nico. Nico stood there, shaking in Percy’s embrace. Two double whistles were heard, and Nico registered it as the signal that Micheal Kahale had fallen and their flag was taken.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” Percy soothed, rubbing circles behind Nico’s back. “Let’s go find Chiron or if you want I could ask him to come to your cabin.”

There it was. 

Hook. Line. Sinker. 

Percy had completely lowered his guard down.

Nico took a deep breath and bought his knee to Percy’s groin hardly. The son of Poseidon let out a guttural scream of pain as he doubled over on the ground. He wheezed and rolled around as pain surged through his entire body.

Nico pulled away, grabbing his sword and running towards the flag. He already had the flag in his hands and was making his way to the nearest shadow when Percy stood up, breath ragged and glared at Nico. “Not today,” Nico grinned as he summoned several skeleton warriors to fight of Percy while he jumped into the shadows.

Nico considered himself lucky that Hazel found shadow travelling harder and more energy-consuming, for the next few seconds were absolutely crucial. He focused on the closest shadow after the boundary line. Popping out of a tree and straight into the middle of a fight. Will jumped away from the line of a sword and jogged up to Nico.

He held the flag up and pretended to lose his balance and falling right into Will’s arms. “Oh my this flag is very heavy,” he said in a mock distressed tone. Will laughed loudly and grabbed the flag, raising it high in the sky. They were on their home turf.

The horn blew sounding the end of the game, “The red team wins,” Chiron’s voice vibrated. Cheers from the red team followed as they jumped in happiness and excitement.

“Ahh that was close,” Hazel groaned from where she stood, a few feet away from the border. Had she really been that close?

Nico smiled and went to give his sister a hug. “Good game,” he told her, and a small yawn escaped his lips. “I’ll go rest, but I’ll see you at the campfire.”

“Rest well,” Hazel pressed a kiss to his cheek before going to see her team. 

Will was lucky that the game ended with no major injuries, no missing limbs and nobody was maimed. Nico trotted over to Will and climbed on his back as they made their way to the infirmary. There Nico laid on one of the beds while Will went to grab some ambrosia and coach Hedge’s sports mud. He put the paste on Nico’s exposed arms and started to sing a healing hymn to remove whatever darkness and shadows in Nico’s system, leaving the minor injuries for his siblings in the meanwhile.

Percy wobbled into the infirmary, and approached Nico with a frown on his face, “bro… that’s so… not cool…”

Nico blinked at Percy before looking a bit sheepish, “Yeah, sorry about that.”

“Will, your boyfriend kneed me in the balls, it still hurts,” Percy complained and took a seat on the bed next to Nico. Groaning in pain as he sat uncomfortably on the bed.

Will sighed and handed him a cup of nectar, “it’s Kayla’s fault. She came up with the idea, and Nico did not tell her no.”

“C’mon bro, seriously?”

Will and Nico shared a look before they looked at Percy impassively, “bro,” they both said in unison. They rested for a while in the infirmary before leaving and joining the others at the campfire. Nico spotted both Hazel and Kayla sitting next to each other chatting. With a smile, he grabbed Will’s hand and made his way to sit next to their sisters.

The Hermes cabin went on to distribute everyone’s winnings, and Nico got his money back. He sat there with everyone to hear the big reveal for the MVP and who was closest to guessing the game time.

“The MVP for this game is, drum roll please,” Conner began, and Austin supplied the drumming sounds, “Lou Ellen!” A few cheers rang out, and Lou jumped in surprise as she hadn’t expected to be an MVP. 

Nico tuned everyone out to hear Hazel and Kayla compare and discuss their strategies for the game. “My entire recruitment process hitched on Nico joining my team,” Kayla explained. “I had multiple attacks on different fronts and a solid defence. But Nico and Lou were my trump cards. I had Lou sneak past everyone to locate your flag, it was her only job. She would send a smoke cloud, and then Nico would shadow travel to that location.”

“So your attack strategy also doubled as a distraction,” Hazel hummed as she processed the plan. “But you could never anticipate who I had on defence and how to counter them.”

“We had key points on our strategy, but it relied on improvising. I went with four main scenarios, a) both you and Percy lead the charge and have someone else defend, b)Percy charges and you defend, c) you charge a Percy defends or d) you both defend.”

“It was a lucky guess, huh?”

“Communication was a focal point of our strategy,” Kayla continued. “We had a series of signs and whistles to relay our messages. Nico located everyone’s auras, and we figured that it’s scenario C, now it was a matter of where is the flag and that depended on Lou.”

“Wait,” Hazel gasped. “When we took Micheal down, that whistling was a warning signal.”

Kayla nodded, “from that point, we focused all of our efforts to prevent you from crossing the line. We needed to buy time for Nico.”

Hazel looked over and glared at her brother, “who kicked Percy in a sensitive place,” she reprimanded.

Nico laughed and pointed a finger towards Kayla, “her plan, I just went with it. Besides, it was kinda funny.”

“Ohh…Ohh…” Kayla jumped excitedly. “Nico’s been taking music and theatre classes with us during the year. And he is so good. You have to admit he is a good actor and the fake blood was something I came up with. The goal was to have Percy drop his guard and then knock him out, _not_ kick him where the sun don’t shine.”

Nico shrugged and turned his attention to Will, pressing a kiss on his jaw. “You have my back sunshine, right?” he pouted. 

Will smiled and kissed Nico deeply, “always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end for this group of prompts. I have written the first draft of the next prompt/one shot but I recon it will take me some time before I post it.

**Author's Note:**

> I have already finished all stories in this fic, but I will one chapter every couple of days. If you do enjoy this work, subscribe to the whole series for more on Solangelo. I would gladly take some constructive criticism if it would help me improve.


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